Glen Mills Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Glen Mills, Pennsylvania 19342
Wednesday, June 9, 1993 12:45 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT INITIATED AN APPROACH TO A GRASS FIELD. WHEN HE APPLIED POWER TO FLARE, HE WAS UNABLE TO STOP THE DESCENT AND MADE A HARD LANDING. THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES CUT THE TAIL BOOM OFF OF THE HELICOPTER. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER BY THE FAA FAILED TO FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

AN IMPROPERLY PLANNED APPROACH IN WHICH THE FLARE WAS NOT ATTAINED, AND WHICH RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/9/1993
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1245
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City GLEN MILLS
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 19342
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport GLEN MILLS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 300
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2200
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 287
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 9 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1455
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 51058
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:24PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N51739
NTSB Number NYC93LA109
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name ENSTROM
Aircraft Model 280C
Aircraft Series Identifier 280C
Aircraft Serial Number 1141
Certified Max Gross Weight 2350
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 3
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Jun 2 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 23
Airframe Hours 4213
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HORIZON HELICOPTERS, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2035 SUNSET LAKE ROAD
Aircraft Owner City NEWARK
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19702
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name HORIZON HELICOPTERS, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2035 SUNSET LAKE ROAD
Operator City NEWARK
Operator State DE
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 19702
Operator Code HZXA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code
Departure City NEWARK
Departure State DE
Departure Country
Departure Time 1215
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --