ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 296589
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| Date: | Wednesday 25 September 2002 |
| Time: | 07:15 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 206L-1 |
| Owner/operator: | Silver State Helicopters |
| Registration: | N601GM |
| MSN: | 45638 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C20 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | North Las Vegas, Nevada -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | North Las Vegas, NV |
| Las Vegas-North Las Vegas Airport, NV (VGT/KVGT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter landed hard approximately 2 miles south of the destination airport following fuel exhaustion. The pilot arrived at the airport behind his intended schedule, and due to the delay, opted not to refuel the helicopter. He departed with 167 pounds of fuel onboard, equating to about 40 minutes of flight time, which he thought would be a sufficient amount for the flight. Upon arriving at his destination (a 3-minute flight), he was instructed to leave the helicopter running. When he decreased the throttle input, he disengaged the caution-panel circuit breaker in an effort to silence the low rotor rpm warning horn. He shut down the engine for a short break and then departed to go back to the airport. With the helicopter leveled off about 3,000 feet above ground level, he scanned the cockpit gauges and realized that he had not reset the panel circuit breaker. He pushed the breaker in and the low fuel light instantly illuminated, followed by the fuel boost warning lights. While the pilot was looking for suitable terrain to execute an emergency landing, the engine quit and he configured the helicopter in an autorotation. He flared about 18 feet above ground level and the helicopter fell to the ground. He input full collective prior to impact, but the helicopter touched down hard. The pilot stated that the helicopter's engine had quit due to fuel exhaustion.
Probable Cause: the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power due to an inadequate fuel supply.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX02LA295
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 12 August 2006 | N601GM | Silver State Helicopters | 0 | Ozona, Texas | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Oct-2022 08:23 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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