- Date
- August 13, 1983, 10:35 local (18:35 UTC)
- Place
- Bettles, AK
- Injuries
- 6 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1081KBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19830813075829A
- Case key
- 4050
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the plt, the low fuel warning light illuminated when the fuel gage was indicating 200 lbs. He reported he could see the arpt lights & elected to continue the flt. After arriving, he terminated his apch to a 30 to 50 ft hover with no forward speed. As he applied forward cyclic to hover to the refueling area, the eng flamed out. Subsequently, the helicopter landed hard & the main rotor blades struck the tail boom. An exam reveal there was enough fuel remaining in the main cell for aprx 20 min of flt. Disassembly of the sys revealed that debris (dirt & zinc chromate paint chips) was in the filters. The filter screen had openings of .020 inch. Particles were found in the flow switches. However, the clearance between the flow switch plunger & the wall of the casing was only .012 inch. Evidence was found to indicate this rendered a flow swich inoperative so that fuel would not transfer from the main cell to the rear cell where it could be used by the eng.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1081K
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45407
- Airframe hours
- 2,499
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28B, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Offshore Logistic Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 13, 1983 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- MTF · Fairbanks, AK
- Destination
- BTT · Bettles, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- BTT · Bettles, runway 1, 5,200 × 160 ft, gravel
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 5,789 total · 40 in this make and model · 4,827 as pilot in command · 41 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BTT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.