- Date
- March 24, 2000, 11:50 local (16:50 UTC)
- Place
- Springfield, GA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N230USAerospatiale SA315B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000324006329A
- Case key
- 51033
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning resulting in fuel exhaustion.
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
The pilot was conducting an aerial application of fertilizer on a pine tree forest. He departed with 60 gallons of fuel, which equates to 45 minutes of useable fuel, and had been airborne for approximately 50 minutes. As the helicopter hovered 30 ft. over the loading crews, the engine lost power and began to settle. The pilot released the external load and maneuvered away from the crews on the ground. The helicopter collided with the ground along a narrow forest road. The operations manager stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the engine. No evidence of fuel was observed at the accident site, and no fuel was recovered from the helicopter's fuel system.
Factual narrative
On March 24, 2000, approximately 1150 eastern standard time, an Aerospatiale SA315B helicopter, N230US, operated by Southern States Cooperative Forestry Unit, collided with the ground following a loss of engine power while performing an aerial application 10 miles west of Springfield, Georgia. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local agricultural application flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 137. The flight originated from Guyton, Georgia, at 1100.
According to an operations manager with Southern States Cooperative Forestry Unit, the purpose of the flight was to conduct an aerial application of fertilizer on a pine tree forest. The pilot departed with 60 gallons of fuel, which is approximately 45 minutes of useable fuel, and had been airborne for approximately 50 minutes. As the helicopter hovered 30 feet above ground level over the loading crews, the engine lost power and the helicopter began to settle. The pilot released the external load and maneuvered away from the crews on the ground. The main rotor blades began striking the trees approximately 18 feet above the ground. The helicopter collided with the ground along a narrow forest road, sustaining damage to the right skid, main and tail rotor blades, and right side of the cabin.
According to the company's operations manager, there were no mechanical malfunctions with the engine at the time the accident occurred. According to an FAA inspector present at the accident scene, no evidence of fuel was observed at the accident site, and no fuel was recovered from the helicopter's fuel system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N230US
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA315B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2638
- Airframe hours
- 5,913
- Engine
- Turbomeca ARTOUSTE IIIB, 625 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Southern States Cooperative
- Registered owner
- Roberts Aircraft Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 21, 2000 · 39 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Guyton, GA
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 14,483 total · 10 in this make and model · 14,483 as pilot in command · 135 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SAV, 25 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.