Enstrom 280FX accident near Tallassee, Alabama, November 22, 2001
On November 22, 2001 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Enstrom 280FX (helicopter), registered N280XF, was destroyed in an accident near Tallassee, Alabama (Reeves airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to maintain a safe altitude above terrain and maintain a visual lookout resulting in the helicopter colliding with power transmission lines and crashing into a river. A factor in the accident was the power transmission lines not being marked.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 22, 2001 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tallassee, Alabama · Reeves · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom 280FX · all 280FXs on the register
- Registration
- N280XF · no longer on the register · serial 2080
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated he keeps the helicopter at his residence. On the day of the accident he flew to his sisters house. After dinner, he departed his sisters house, which is located about 5 miles from the accident site, with the 2 passengers. They flew around the town of Tallassee, and he then entered on the downwind leg for runway 13 at Reeves Airport. He turned on base over the Tallapoosa River, and was flying to the south. He observed a glimmer and remembers seeing power lines. The next thing he remembers is being in the river. Postcrash examination of the helicopter showed it had collided with an unmarked power transmission line, which drooped below the tree level on the river banks, to a point about 75 feet about the river. The collision occurred about midpoint in the river and the wire rapped around the main rotor mast. The main rotor system separated from the helicopter and the helicopter crashed into the river about 500 feet south of the power lines. Postcrash examination of the helicopter and engine showed no evidence of precrash failure or malfunction of the helicopter structure, flight controls, or engine. Toxicology tests performed on specimens obtained from the pilot after admission to a hospital were negative for ethanol and drugs.
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 900 hours in all; 25 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 850 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: December 19, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 460 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2001; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,600 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-F1AD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: Tallassee AL at 7:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 3,232 ft by 80 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 7:30 pm from MGM, 20 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.