On June 19, 2013, at 1013 central daylight time, an Enstrom F-28A, N485PM, landed hard after the engine lost power at Salaika Aviation Airport (07TA), Danbury, Texas. The instructor and student pilot were not injured. The helicopter was destroyed. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Salaika Air Services, Danbury, Texas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from 07TA approximately 1000.
The helicopter had just taken off and was turning downwind in the airport’s traffic pattern when the pilots heard a loud “bang” and the engine lost power. The instructor initiated an auto rotation. The helicopter touched down and slid, striking a ground rut that broke the right skid. The helicopter rolled over on its right side. The main rotor blades were destroyed and the tail boom was severed.
Post-accident examination revealed a connecting rod had ventilated the engine crankcase. The reason the connecting rod failed was not determined.