19950410011049I

Incident

FAA incident report · Bolkms BK117A1 · Glastonbury, CT · April 10, 1995

Date
April 10, 1995 · 14:20 local
Place
Glastonbury, CT
Phase of flight
Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Operator
R7MA
Aircraft
N128HH
Reported as
Bolkms BK117A1
People aboard
4
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
5,600 total600 in this make and model25 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: pilot reported weather as clear sky, visibility unlimited, winds 10 mph. Pilot report follows: while practicing confined area landings in conjunction with new flight nurse training, aircraft sustained a puncture in the rear bladder from an unseen object. A fuel smell was noticed and confirmed by all on board. I began a shallow approach to an open field. During the approach the flight nurse reported fuel on the back window. At this time I believed we had a fuel manifold failure on one of the engines. The flight nurse reported smoke trailing the aircraft. I was getting fuel drops on the windshield as we landed. I shut down the engines and evacuated the crew. Only upon exiting the aircraft did I learn we had punctured a fuel cell. The elapsed time from fuel smell to shutdown was less than 3 minutes.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: PILOT REPORTED WEATHER AS CLEAR SKY, VISIBILITY UNLIMITED, WINDS 10 MPH. PILOT REPORT FOLLOWS: WHILE PRACTICING CONFINED AREA LANDINGS IN CONJUNCTION WITH NEW FLIGHT NURSE TRAINING, AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED A PUNCTURE IN THE REAR BLADDER FROM AN UNSEEN OBJECT. A FUEL SMELL WAS NOTICED AND CONFIRMED BY ALL ON BOARD. I BEGAN A SHALLOW APPROACH TO AN OPEN FIELD. DURING THE APPROACH THE FLIGHT NURSE REPORTED FUEL ON THE BACK WINDOW. AT THIS TIME I BELIEVED WE HAD A FUEL MANIFOLD FAILURE ON ONE OF THE ENGINES. THE FLIGHT NURSE REPORTED SMOKE TRAILING THE AIRCRAFT. I WAS GETTING FUEL DROPS ON THE WINDSHIELD AS WE LANDED. I SHUT DOWN THE ENGINES AND EVACUATED THE CREW. ONLY UPON EXITING THE AIRCRAFT DID I LEARN WE HAD PUNCTURED A FUEL CELL. THE ELAPSED TIME FROM FUEL SMELL TO SHUTDOWN WAS LESS THAN 3 MINUTES.