NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DEN88LA048
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
THE PLT CONTACTED GROUND CONTROL & WAS CLEARED TO TAXI FROM A HANGAR ON THE SOUTH END OF THE ARPT TO A HANGAR ON THE NORTH END VIA TWY-A. TWY-A WAS LOCATED 400' WEST & PARALLEL TO RWY 17/35. THE PLT SAID HE WAS AIR TAXIING THE HELICOPTER JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE AT 3 TO 5 KTS WHEN AN AIR FORCE C-141 MADE A TOUCH-&-GO LANDING ON RWY 17. THE C-141 LIFTED OFF ABOUT 500 TO 1000 FT AHEAD OF THE HELICOPTER & WAS AT AN ESTD 50 TO 100 FT AGL WHEN IT PASSED ABEAM OF THE HELICOPTER'S PSN. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE HELICOPTER ENCTRD WAKE TURBULENCE FROM THE C-141. THE PLT TRIED TO COMPENSATE FOR PITCHING & ROLLING, BUT THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN HARD & WAS DAMAGED. THE WIND WAS RPRTD FROM 130 DEG AT 5 KTS. THE PLT WAS CERTIFICATED FOR FIXED WING ACFT & WAS ENDORSED TO AIR TAXI THIS HELICOPTER, MAKE HOVER TURNS & FLY IN GROUND EFFECT BELOW TRANSLATION SPEED (15 KTS). THE ATC HANDBOOK DID NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS AIR TAXIING, BUT IT REQUIRED 3 MIN SEPN BHND A HVY JET DEPG OR MAKING A LOW/MISSED APCH ON THE SAME OR PARALLEL RWY W/I 2500'. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1988_DEN88LA048.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.
Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wake turbulence, turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Conference paper
Relational Energy’s Role in Leadership Development for Airline Executives
Relational energy — the dynamism of emotional and psychological exchanges in interactions — is an overlooked element in leadership development.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Contractor Report (CR)
Space Shuttle Phase B System Study Extension. Part 1: Executive Summary
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence minimization by aerodynamic means
The paper reviews NASA's efforts on wake vortex turbulence minimization by aerodynamic design or retrofit modifications to large transport aircraft.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA)
The preliminary Wake Turbulence Mitigation for Arrivals (WTMA) concept of operations is described in this paper. The WTMA concept provides further detail to work initiated by the Wake Vortex Avoidance…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence avoidance
Aircraft wake turbulence /trailing vortex systems/ avoidance during flight, describing procedures for pilots and tower operators
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Paper
Aircraft wake turbulence progress and plans
Aircraft wake turbulence and trailing vortices, investigating physical characteristics, hazard potential and avoidance techniques
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗