ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 353003
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| Date: | Saturday 17 July 1999 |
| Time: | 16:30 LT |
| Type: | Bell 47G-3B-1 Soloy |
| Owner/operator: | Precision Air Services, Inc. |
| Registration: | N4002G |
| MSN: | 6529 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 10013 hours |
| Engine model: | Allison T63-A700 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Sour Lake, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter lost engine power during takeoff due to contaminated fuel. The commercial helicopter pilot stated that the night before the accident flight, the fueling truck, which contained three tanks (one each for water, chemicals, and fuel), was checked. The pilot stated that the fuel appeared 'normal' that night. The following day, prior to the accident flight, the helicopter was 'refueled without sumping the tanks.' The pilot added that during takeoff, the engine lost power about 50 feet above the ground, at 30 miles per hour. He executed an autorotation to the ground where the main rotor blades impacted the tail boom and the tail rotor blades contacted the ground. The pilot stated that he found 20 gallons of water in the helicopter's fuel tank after the accident. He added that he discovered the fuel truck had a crack in between the water and fuel tanks. Approximately 80 gallons of water had leaked into the truck's fuel tank. The fuel truck was 'supposed to have an aqua stop filter installed that will not pump if water is present but the wrong filter was installed.'
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to adequately preflight the helicopter's fuel system resulting in the total loss of engine power as a result of water contamination. Factors were the incorrect filter installed on the fueling truck and the pilot's improper touchdown technique.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB FTW99TA194
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 19 October 2002 | N4002G | Holcomb Aerial Service Inc | 0 | Highfalls, Georgia | |
sub |
| Fuel exhaustion | ||||||
| 3 August 2015 | N4002G | Ewing Flying Service Llc | 0 | Camden, AL | |
sub |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Mar-2024 09:21 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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