Helicopter Engine Flameout over the Carlsbad Power Plant

Another incident demonstrates the dangers of a natural gas fueled power plant. Placing the new hospital with the North County's only Trauma Center next to a large electric power plant is not a wise decision.

A helicopter was disabled and was forced to make a hard landing after its engine died flying over the smoke stack of the Encina electric power plant in Carlsbad, California:

"As the helicopter passed over the top of the smokestack, the engine flamed out. . . ."

"Why did the engine flame out? Lack of oxygen in the gases coming out of the smoke stack. The recording equipment in the power plant showed that the oxygen content of the stack gases was about 7 percent at the time of the flight. Not enough to sustain life or combustion."

The "Smokestack Flameout" story begins about two-thirds of the way down the web page at the following link.

http://www.aviationtoday.com/cgi/am/show_mag.cgi?pub=am&mon=0501&file=0501flameout.htm