ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 296071
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| Date: | Friday 28 March 2003 |
| Time: | 16:50 LT |
| Type: |  Enstrom F280FX |
| Owner/operator: | Michael Debard |
| Registration: | N5698M |
| MSN: | 2073 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1280 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming HI0-360-F1AD |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | San Carlos, California -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | San Carlos Airport, CA (SQL/KSQL) |
| San Carlos Airport, CA (SQL/KSQL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The helicopter was returning from a local area photography flight when the engine lost power during the landing flare causing the helicopter to land hard. The pilot stated that he made a long approach towards the departure end of runway 30, he executed a 15-foot flare for landing. The low fuel pressure light illuminated, he verified that the fuel boost pump was on, and as he "rolled the throttle on," the engine "sputtered and went dead." In an attempt to safely land the helicopter the pilot made a hard autorotative landing causing substantial damage. Fueling receipts from Rabbit Aviation Services show that the helicopter was fueled on two separate occasions on the day of the accident. At 1125, 32.9 gallons of fuel were added, and at 1403, 39.4 gallons were added. The Enstrom 280FX has a usable fuel capacity of 40 gallons. At 30 inches of manifold pressure and 78 percent power, the endurance at sea level is 2.0 hours. At 32 inches of manifold pressure and 83 percent power, the endurance is 1.8 hours. The pilot reported taking off at 1445, and the accident occurred about 1650.
Probable Cause: Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations and his inadequate in-flight planning decision. A factor was the low altitude from which the autorotation was attempted.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB LAX03LA119
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Oct-2022 16:12 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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