Enstrom F-28A accident near Middletown, Delaware, May 27, 1988
On May 27, 1988 at about 1:15 am local time, a Enstrom F-28A (helicopter), registered N9209, was substantially damaged in an accident near Middletown, Delaware (Summit Airpark airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 27, 1988 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Middletown, Delaware · Summit Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F-28A · all F-28As on the register
- Registration
- N9209 · no longer on the register · serial 226
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, AT AN ALT OF APRX 400 FT, A LOUD BANG WAS HEARD AND THE HELICOPTER DEVELOPED A MODERATE TO SEVERE VIBRATION. THE CFI TOOK CONTROL OF THE HELICOPTER AND INITIATED AN AUTOROTATION. THE HELICOPTER CONTACTED SMALL TREE BRANCHES AND LANDED HARD IN A FIELD. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED THE #3 CYLINDER CONNECTING ROD CAP HAD SEPARATED FROM THE CONNECTING ROD. THE FATIGUE FAILURE INITIATED AT THE BOLT HOLE IN THE YOKE SECTION OF THE ROD. SEVERE GALLING WAS VISIBLE ON THE FAILED CONNECTING ROD CAP AND YOKE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,348 hours in all; 225 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 2,293 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,124 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 13, 1988; 324 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,950 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-C1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N92
- Destination: ILG Wilmington DE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 11, 4,100 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.