Enstrom F-28F accident near San Jose, California, February 27, 1999
On February 27, 1999 at about 8:56 pm local time, a Enstrom F-28F (helicopter), registered N5700C, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Jose, California (Reid-Hillview Of Santa Cl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 loss of aircraft control due to the pilot's sudden application of collective combined with excessive cyclic inputs.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 1999 · about 8:56 pm local time
- Place
- San Jose, California · Reid-Hillview Of Santa Cl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F-28F · all F-28Fs on the register
- Registration
- N5700C · no longer on the register · serial 514
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and a mechanic were performing a postmaintenance test flight following tracking of the main rotor blades. One test flight had already been accomplished with no discrepancies. The pilot had not flown the helicopter during the preceding 90 days. As the pilot pulled the collective, the aircraft suddenly came to a 4-foot hover with the fuselage swinging side to side and fore and aft below the main rotor. The pilot attempted to recover; however, the aircraft pitched forward, the main rotor blades struck the ground, and the aircraft rolled onto its right side. The pilot said he thought he might have mispositioned the cyclic before raising the collective as he was attempting to comply with the mechanic's request to 'pull-off before vibration became a problem.' He said the controls 'felt' differently than he had expected. A detailed control system inspection found no evidence of preexisting discrepancies.
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: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 536 hours in all; 110 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 446 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,335 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 23, 1999; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-F1AD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RHV at 7:56 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 20,000 ft; scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:48 pm from SJC, 5 miles away
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.