BAGGS, WY, USA
N535H
Enstrom 280C
The pilot said that they had just shot a coyote and were landing to pick it up. The coyote lay between two ridges, and as he approached the site, the main rotor RPM began to decay. The pilot said that there wasn't sufficient altitude to recover, and he landed on the flattest place he could find. He said they landed hard, and the main rotor blades 'sheared off the tail boom.' The density altitude was estimated to be 7,500 feet.
On May 22, 1999, approximately 0630 mountain daylight time, an Enstrom 280C helicopter, N535H, was substantially damaged during a hard landing near Baggs, Wyoming. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The helicopter was being operated by J. and R. Enterprise, of Casper, Wyoming, under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local coyote hunting flight which originated approximately 30 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed. The pilot said that they had just shot a coyote and were landing to pick it up. The coyote lay between two ridges, and as he approached the site, the main rotor RPM began to decay. The pilot said that there wasn't sufficient altitude to recover, so he landed on the flattest place he could find. He said they landed hard, and the main rotor blades "sheared off the tail boom." The density altitude was estimated to be 7,500 feet.
The pilot not maintaining the main rotor's RPM. Factor's were the high density altitude, and the mountainous/hilly terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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