Enstrom F-28C accident near Lake Jackson, Texas, January 30, 1997
On January 30, 1997 at about 2:45 am local time, a Enstrom F-28C (helicopter), registered N51774, was destroyed in an accident near Lake Jackson, Texas (Brazoria County 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 failure of the #2 cylinder for an undetermined reason which resulted in an exhaust leak that melted an oil line.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 30, 1997 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Lake Jackson, Texas · Brazoria County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F-28C · all F-28Cs on the register
- Registration
- N51774 · registry record · serial 440
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor and his student were practicing takeoffs and landings and were 'on the second or third takeoff,' approximately 400 feet agl, when the helicopter 'began to lose power.' The instructor turned the helicopter back towards the airport and 'proceeded to descend while losing engine power.' Before the helicopter 'reached the ground, the engine lost all power.' After the touchdown on a taxiway, the instructor 'noticed flames from the engine compartment' and, after shutting down the engine, attempted unsuccessfully to put out the fire with a hand held fire extinguisher. The helicopter was destroyed by the fire. Examination of the engine by the operator revealed a 'hole melted out above [the] exhaust port' of the number 2 cylinder. According to the operator, the resulting exhaust gas leak 'severed the number 4 cylinder oil line and started a fire.'
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: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 385 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 294 as pilot in command; 92 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,113 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 7, 1996; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-E1AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LBX TX at 2:40 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 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.
Other NTSB records under N51774 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.