19980501013119I

Incident

FAA incident report · Bell 47D1 · Las Vegas, NV · May 1, 1998

Date
May 1, 1998 · 14:30 local
Place
Las Vegas, NV
Phase of flight
Low Level Operations
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft
N6324X
Reported as
Bell 47D1
Reported engine
Franklin 6V335A
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
7,850 total61 in this make and model45 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: while performing aerial photography, helicopter made a steep banking turn causing a momentary fuel starvation to the engine. A precautionary landing was made and the fuel and spark plugs were inspected and found to be satisfactory. Total fuel onboard the helicopter was found to be above the minimum fuel required for flight to destination airport. Pilot of helicopter was a qualified licensed A&P mechanic and after preflight the helicopter was flown from place of precautionary lading to destination airport seven miles away. The pilot of the helicopter made a safe precautionary landing in a large field with no people in the area after experiencing a momentary engine fuel starvation as a result of making a steep turn with a minimum amount of fuel onboard.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: WHILE PERFORMING AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, HELICOPTER MADE A STEEP BANKING TURN CAUSING A MOMENTARY FUEL STARVATION TO THE ENGINE. A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING WAS MADE AND THE FUEL AND SPARK PLUGS WERE INSPECTED AND FOUND TO BE SATISFACTORY. TOTAL FUEL ONBOARD THE HELICOPTER WAS FOUND TO BE ABOVE THE MINIMUM FUEL REQUIRED FOR FLIGHT TO DESTINATION AIRPORT. PILOT OF HELICOPTER WAS A QUALIFIED LICENSED A&P MECHANIC AND AFTER PREFLIGHT THE HELICOPTER WAS FLOWN FROM PLACE OF PRECAUTIONARY LADING TO DESTINATION AIRPORT SEVEN MILES AWAY. THE PILOT OF THE HELICOPTER MADE A SAFE PRECAUTIONARY LANDING IN A LARGE FIELD WITH NO PEOPLE IN THE AREA AFTER EXPERIENCING A MOMENTARY ENGINE FUEL STARVATION AS A RESULT OF MAKING A STEEP TURN WITH A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF FUEL ONBOARD.