Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Greater Kankakee Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Kankakee, Illinois 60901
Saturday, August 2, 2003 17:55 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The sightseeing aerial observation helicopter sustained substantial damage when the main rotor impacted the tail rotor drive shaft during a landing in a county fairground parking lot. The tail rotor drive shaft separated from the helicopter. The tail rotor drive shaft impacted the rear window of a vehicle parked in the parking lot. Three passengers reported minor injuries and the pilot reported that he was uninjured. The pilot stated, "I made a stabilized steep approach to the landing area. Once I detected the helicopter skids come in contact with the surface I lowered the collective at that moment the helicopter dropped and lunged forward. The landing site was a nearly level area with 2-3 inch tall grass." Wind was 170 degrees at 7 knots. An on-scene examination of the helicopter detected no pre-impact anomalies. The helicopter's flight manual stated, "The cabin interior is a full, three-place, side by side seating arrangement." The helicopter's center of gravity range was 92.0 to 100 inches. The operator's calculated center of gravity was 91.74 inches.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot misjudged flare which led to a hard landing. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to follow procedures/directives when he exceeded the airplane's weight and balance.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/2/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1755 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Kankakee |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60901 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | -- |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | -- |
| Event Location Latitude | 410417N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0875047W |
| Event Location Airport | GREATER KANKAKEE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IKK |
| 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 | 630 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1803 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 360 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IKK |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 630 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 20 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 170 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.9 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 1633 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KIKK 021823Z AUTO 28006KT 10SM SCT038 29/21 A2991 |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 3 |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14848 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 2 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1836 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2004 8:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | West Chicago, IL, FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N15SA |
| NTSB Number | CHI03LA240 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Enstrom |
| Aircraft Model | F-28C |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 469 |
| 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 | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 5 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 90.5 |
| Airframe Hours | 4915.7 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Hartford Holding Corp |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3511 Silverside Road, Suite 105 |
| Aircraft Owner City | Wilmington |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19810 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Spitfire Aerospace Technologies Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 37A Airport Lane |
| Operator City | Pedericktown |
| Operator State | NJ |
| Operator Country | -- |
| Operator Zip code | 08067 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Kankakee |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 5 2007 3:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\HAMG |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | Yes |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |