Law Enforcement Received A 911 Call That The Helicopter Had Crashed In The Driveway Of The Pilot’s Residence

Location: Greenville, OH Accident Number: ERA22FA262
Date & Time: June 7, 2022, 09:40 Local Registration: N600TA
Aircraft: Enstrom F28 Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On June 7, 2022, about 0940 eastern daylight time, an Enstrom F28F helicopter, N600TA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Greenville, Ohio. The private pilot and his wife (a student pilot) were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot owned the helicopter, which was also used for agricultural spraying on his family farm. The helicopter was based at a private hangar facility in Greenville. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, who visited the facility after the accident, the pilot, and his wife, were observed on surveillance video departing the facility at 0925. The spray equipment had been removed from the helicopter. Several witnesses saw the helicopter flying in the local area at an altitude between 500 and 1,000 ft mean sea level (msl). About 0940, law enforcement received a 911 call that the helicopter had crashed in the driveway of the pilot’s residence, about 3 miles from the hangar facility.

The helicopter came to rest upright, with its skids fully spread and a postaccident fire consumed the aft cockpit area to the forward tail boom area. All three main rotor blades remained secured to the mast and were undamaged. The tail rotor gear box was intact, and one tail rotor blade was bent about 90°. The other blade sustained minor damage. The cockpit area was crushed, but the instrument panel was intact and undamaged. The windshield was shattered. There were no ground scars or impact marks observed around the main wreckage. 

A ½-inch coaxial cable that ran from a power-pole on the street directly to the home was severed and laying on the ground to the left and right of the main wreckage. The tail rotor guard was broken in two sections and found about 20-30 ft behind the main wreckage, along with a cargo door. Both sets of flight controls were installed in the helicopter. Though breaks in the flight control system were observed due to fire and impact damage, flight control continuity was established for all major flight controls.

There were no witnesses to the accident and the pilot was not in contact with air traffic control. A search for air traffic control radar data revealed no radar data was captured for the flight. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) flight tracking equipment was installed on the helicopter, but no tracking data was captured for the accident flight.

According to a pilot that flew spraying operations in the accident helicopter, he said the pilot had planned to fly to the Warren County Airport (I68), Lebanon, Ohio, that day to drop the helicopter off for scheduled maintenance. 

The helicopter wreckage was retained for further examination.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov