Enstrom F-28A accident near Brooksville, Florida, May 7, 1983
On May 7, 1983 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Enstrom F-28A (helicopter), registered N9086, was destroyed in an accident near Brooksville, Florida (Hernando CO. airport). 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 1983 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Florida · Hernando CO.
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Enstrom F-28A · all F-28As on the register
- Registration
- N9086 · no longer on the register · serial 219
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT ROLLED OVER AND CRASHED DURING AN ATTEMPTED DOWNWIND RUNNING TAKEOFF. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND FIRE. THE PILOT AND 2 PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND AND ONE OF THE PASSENGERS WHO IS AN A&P MECHANIC STATED THAT THE PILOT HOVER-TAXIED DOWNWIND AND ALL OWED THE ACFT TO SETTLE TO THE GROUND. HE THEN ATTEMPTED THE DOWNWIND RUNNING TAKEOFF. THE PILOT SAID 'I SHOULD NOT HAVE ATTEMPTED TO TAKEOFF WITH BOTH PASSENGERS, AGAIN BUT LETONE OFF.' HE STATED HE RAN OUT OF POWER AND PEDAL.
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: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 750 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 145 in the last 90 days; 350 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,730 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 11, 1982
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming HIO-360-CIA (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.