NTSB NYC88LA018 — 1987-10-25 · LACONIA, New Hampshire, United States

Current FAA registration · N51699

Make / Model: ENSTROM F-28C
Year of manufacture: 1977 · 10 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING HIO-360 SER (205 hp)
Seats / Engines: 3 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19771223
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A67B6E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N51699 Enstrom F-28C None

Factual narrative

THE PLT RPRTD HE WAS DEMONSTRATING A FULL TOUCHDOWN AUTOROTATION IN WINDS THAT WERE FROM 290 DEG AT 15 GUSTING 20 KTS. HE STATED THE TOUCHDOWN WAS SOFT WITH A LOT OF PITCH PULLED IN; HOWEVER, AS HE LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE AFTER TOUCHDOWN, THE RETREATING BLADE FLEXED DOWNWARD & SEVERED THE AFT PORTION OF THE TAIL BOOM & THE TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT. THE PLT BELIEVED HE HAD LOWERED THE COLLECTIVE TOO FAST AFTER TOUCHDOWN, WHICH WOULD HAVE ALLOWED THE BLADES TO FLAP DOWNWARD. ALSO, HE BELIEVED THE HIGH WIND & REDUCED RPM FROM THE AUTOROTATION WOULD HAVE ATTRIBUTED TO EXCESSIVE FLAPPING OF THE RETREATING ROTOR BLADES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_NYC88LA018.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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