Enstrom F28A accident near Bruceville, Texas, January 5, 2007
On January 5, 2007 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Enstrom F28A (helicopter), registered N764PC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bruceville, Texas. 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 instructor pilot's improper demonstration of an autorotation, resulting in the helicopter's main rotor blades impacting the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 5, 2007 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Bruceville, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F28A · all F28As on the register
- Registration
- N764PC · no longer on the register · serial 073
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 1,425-hour helicopter rated flight instructor and a 130-hour private helicopter pilot lifted-off in the piston-engine powered helicopter for a local instructional flight. The flight instructor planned to demonstrate "a hovering autorotation with forward speed." The instructor reported that "after initiating the maneuver, [he] failed to level the aircraft, [and] as the aircraft descended ... the toes of the landing skids contacted the ground." The helicopter continued rotating forward until the main rotor blades impacted the ground. As the helicopter rocked back, the main rotor blades then struck the tail-rotor driveshaft. In the Recommendation section of the NTSB Form 6120.1 (How could this accident have been prevented ?), the flight instructor stated that the accident could have been prevented if "the aircraft had no forward speed", "if aircraft touched down in a level attitude, or if the maneuver had been performed over a hard surface."
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
Flight instructor
- 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: 1,425 hours in all; 52 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,233 as pilot in command; 763 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 130 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 51 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 70 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: June 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,304.4 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 1, 2006
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Vista Aviation, LLC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 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.