ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 30106
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 June 2000 |
| Time: | 07:30 |
| Type: |  Hughes 369 |
| Owner/operator: | Thomas Helicopters |
| Registration: | N8653F |
| MSN: | 180256D |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7318 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison 250-C20-B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Heyburn, Idaho -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Gooding, ID (GNG) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that while flying at about 70-80 feet AGL spraying an insecticide over a residential area, the audible engine out warning sounded and the engine lost power. The pilot turned the helicopter to the right and extended the glide to clear obstructions for the emergency landing in a field. The helicopter landed hard, partially collapsing the landing skids, and the main rotor blades struck and severed the tailboom. Post-accident investigation at the accident site revealed that the fuel gauges were indicating empty and that the fuel level low light did illuminate at that time. The pilot reported that he did not see a light prior to the loss of engine power. The helicopter was recovered and moved to a facility to inspect the fuel system. During the tests, it was found that the fuel-sending unit indicated more fuel on the fuel gauge than was actually on board. The low fuel warning light also did not illuminate every time. The total fuel quantity drained from the fuel tank after the accident was approximately two pints. The pilot reported that the company's fuel truck does not have a metering system and that the fuelers estimate the fuel quantity added by using a timed fuel burst. They also are supposed to verify that the aircraft's fuel gage moves when fuel is added.
Probable Cause: Fuel exhaustion and inaccurate fuel management. A false indication on the fuel quantity gage, and an erratic low level fuel warning system were factors.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X21345&key=1
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 April 2015 | N555JC | Haverfield Aviation | 1 | Tennessee River, west of the Natchez Trace Parkway, TN | |
sub |
| CFIT | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:20 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 12-Dec-2017 18:48 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Oct-2023 14:47 | harro | Updated [[Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]] |
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