NTSB LAX89FA238 — 1989-07-11 · OAKLAND, California, United States

N288 has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SCHLEICHER ASW-20, built 1981), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N288 Enstrom F28F None

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO PROPERLY MAINTAIN ROTOR RPM THROUGHOUT THE AUTOROTATION.

Factual narrative

THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT ELECTED TO CONDUCT A PRACTICE AUTOROTATION WITH TURN AND RECOVER WITH POWER. THE PILOT WAS FLYING WITH A PASSENGER. THE PILOT ALLOWED THE ROTOR RPM TO BLEED OFF AND WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER THE RPM BEFORE TOUCHDOWN. THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD COLLAPSING THE SKID TYPE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM. THE MAIN ROTOR THEN CONTACTED THE TAILBOOM. THE HELICOPTER SLID ABOUT 100 FEET AFTER TOUCHDOWN AND ROTATED 90 DEGREES TO THE LEFT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_LAX89FA238.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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