# NTSB ANC04LA027: Hiller UH-12B, N5304V, Bradenton, FL, February 22, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 22, 2004, 11:25 local (16:25 UTC) - Place: Bradenton, FL - Coordinates: 27.395277, -82.554168 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.3953&lon=-82.5542&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 58829 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA027 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/58829/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA027 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain adequate rotor speed, resulting in a hard landing. ## Analysis The airline transport pilot was on a solo cross-country helicopter flight as part of a helicopter add-on rating. He reported that he thought that there was enough fuel for about 1.7 hours of flight time, but after only 1.5 hours of flight time, as the flight neared the destination heliport, the engine began to run rough and lose power. He said that he lowered the helicopter's collective and entered an autorotation, and selected an unoccupied playground as an emergency landing site. As the helicopter descended into the playground area, he had to raise the collective to avoid a stand of trees, and the main rotor speed decayed. The helicopter's skids subsequently struck the ground hard, and the helicopter rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained structural damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor drive system. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the helicopter. An FAA inspector who inspected the helicopter and spoke with the pilot, noted that the helicopter's fuel tank appeared empty, and stated that that the pilot agreed with him. ## Factual narrative On February 22, 2004, about 1125 Eastern standard time, a skid equipped Hiller UH-12B helicopter, N5304V, sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing following a loss of engine power in Bradenton, Florida. The helicopter was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The solo certificated airline transport pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Orlando Executive Airport, Orlando, Florida, about 1000, and was en route to the Dove Heliport, Sarasota, Florida. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on February 22, the pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was a solo cross-country flight as part of a helicopter add-on rating. He said that he thought that there was enough fuel for about 1.7 hours of flight time, but after only 1.5 hours of flight time, as the flight neared the destination heliport, the engine began to run rough and lose power. The pilot said that he lowered the helicopter's collective and entered an autorotation, and selected an unoccupied playground as an emergency landing site. He said that as the helicopter descended into the playground area, he had to raise the collective slightly in order to avoid a stand of trees, and the main rotor speed decayed. The helicopter's skids subsequently struck the ground hard, and the helicopter rolled onto its right side, sustaining structural damage to the fuselage, tail boom, and main rotor drive system. The pilot noted that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the helicopter. On February 22, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airworthiness Inspector from the Tampa Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), traveled to the accident site and inspected the helicopter wreckage prior to recovery. The FAA inspector reported that the helicopter's fuel tank appeared to be empty, and that the accident pilot agreed with him. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - in-flight planning/decision - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - autorotation - Hard landing, emergency descent/landing - terrain condition - ground - rotor rpm - inadequate, pilot in command ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5304V](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5304V-2014-10-27), registration cancelled 2014-10-27, S/N 575 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Hiller UH-12B - Registry model: [Hiller UH-12B](https://openairdocs.org/model/hiller-uh-12b) (registry code 4360110) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Franklin 6V4 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/franklin-6v4-series) (registry code 27033, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 575 - Engines: Franklin 6V4 Series 210 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Danny Bals - Registered owner: Sebastien Bals - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 3, 2003 - Departed: KORL, Orlando, FL - Destination: FA22, Sarasota, FL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review December 11, 2003; seat: center; flight hours: 6,110 total ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 1° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 72 °F, dew point 61 °F - Altimeter: 30.13 inHg - Observed at: KSRQ ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040222031169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040222031169A), Feb 22, 2004: Hiller UH12B, Bradenton, FL, Substantial damage. (-23) On February 22, 2004, at 1140 EDT, a Hiller UH-12B, registered to danny bals, engine quit due to fuel depletion and auto rotated into panther park,… ## Other investigations on N5304V (2) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA00LA111](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA00LA111), Mar 17, 2000: Hiller UH-12B (N5304V), Sanford, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper collective and cyclic control usage during an emergency descent, following the onset of a 1 to 1 vibration for undetermined reasons, resulting in the helicopter landing hard and… - [NTSB CHI67A0087](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI67A0087), Jan 15, 1967: Hiller UH-12B (N5304V), Fairhaven, MI, destroyed From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.