NTSB CAROL · Event
Event MKC87LA096
Aircraft involved
Factual narrative
THE STU PIC WAS SOLO ON A X-COUNTRY FLT WHEN THE ENG BACKFIRED. THE STU ENTERED AUTOROTATION WITH LOW ROTOR RPM WHICH ACCELERATED THE DESCENT RATE. THE STU FLARED BEFORE TOUCHDOWN BUT DID NOT LEVEL THE HELO IN TIME TO LAND. THE TAILBOOM STRUCK THE GND AND THE HELO ROTATED ON ITS SIDE. THE STU STATED THAT THE LNDG SITE HE HAD CHOSEN CONSISTED OF SLOPING TERRAIN. THE STU STATED THAT HE FLARED AND THE TAILBOOM STRUCK THE UPSLOPING TERRAIN. THE STU STATED THAT HAD HE LEVELED OFF AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME HE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL. THE ENG INSP REVEALED THAT THE ENG TIMING BELT HAD SLIPPED, EFFECTIVELY DISABLING THE ENG. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1987_MKC87LA096.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. 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 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Crew Factors in Flight Operations: A Survey of Fatigue Factors in Corporate/Executive A Viation Operations - 8
Corporate flight crews face unique challenges including unscheduled flights, quickly changing schedules, extended duty days, long waits, time zone changes, and peripheral tasks.
- Semantic Scholar 2013 · Article (IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering)
Effectiveness of Executive Functions Training Within a Virtual Supermarket for Adults With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Pilot Study
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2025 · Industry report (AQRR)
Airline Quality Rating 2024 & 2025
The Airline Quality Rating Report is a product of academic research from the previous co-authors Dr. Dean Headley and Dr. Brent Bowen. The research originated at the W.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Conference paper
Gender Diversity In Aviation: What Is It Like To Be In The Female Minority?
This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explain what it is like to be a gender minority in the aviation industry to bring awareness of the personal experiences lived by women in aviation to …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗