Enstrom F28C-2 accident near San Gorgonio, California, March 19, 1995
On March 19, 1995, a Enstrom F28C-2 (helicopter), registered N5693W, was destroyed in an accident near San Gorgonio, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's selection of an inadequate terrain clearance altitude while overflying mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 19, 1995
- Place
- San Gorgonio, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F28C-2 · all F28C-2s on the register
- Registration
- N5693W · no longer on the register · serial 490-2
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN IN A WILDERNESS AREA DURING A SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT. THE HELICOPTER WAS FLYING UPSLOPE ABOVE A WATERFALL WHEN THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT AND THE HELICOPTER BEGAN TO SETTLE. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO FLY OUT OF THE DOWNDRAFT, BUT THE HELICOPTER CONTINUED DESCENDING. THE HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH TREES AND ROLLED DOWNSLOPE. THE PILOT INDICATED THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE HELICOPTER BEFORE THE ACCIDENT.
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: instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,368 hours in all; 1,008 in this make and model; 247 in the last 90 days; 86 in the last 30 days; 1,368 as pilot in command; 631 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,190 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 14, 1995; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-E1BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Cabazon CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 pm from BUO, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.