ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 228408
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Tuesday 20 August 2019 |
| Time: | 10:30 LT |
| Type: | Bell 47G-3B-1 Soloy |
| Owner/operator: | Olathe Spray Service Inc |
| Registration: | N1170W |
| MSN: | 2944 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13693 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce 250-C20B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Montrose, CO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Olathe, CO (1CO4) |
| Olathe, CO (1CO4) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Before the pilot performed an aerial application, the helicopter was serviced with pesticide, but no fuel was added; fuel had been added before the three previous flights. During one of the aerial application passes, the engine lost power; the pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, and the helicopter's tailboom and fuselage were substantially damaged. Following the accident, about 3/4 gallon of fuel was recovered from the right fuel tank and 2 1/2 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left fuel tank. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunction of failure that would have precluded normal engine operations.
Each spray pass is made at an airspeed of about 85 mph and directly above the crop to achieve optimal product application and spray coverage to the crop. At that speed, the helicopter flies in a nose-low attitude. The fuel delivery port or tube on both tanks is located at the aft, lower end of each tank, and both tanks deliver fuel to the engine simultaneously. It is likely that the limited fuel in the tanks moved away from the fuel ports due to the helicopter's nose-low attitude, resulting in fuel starvation.
Probable Cause: A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from attitude-induced unporting of the fuel.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CEN19TA280
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Aug-2019 23:01 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 21-Aug-2019 23:19 | Geno | Updated [Phase, Nature, Source] |
| 27-Mar-2021 08:19 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
| 27-Mar-2021 08:36 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Category, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation