- Date
- March 9, 1990, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cross, SC
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4875MSikorsky HSS-1N
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900309014959A
- Case key
- 8117
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Improper planning/decision by the pilot, which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel, and his failure to fly the helicopter in such a manner that would have assured sufficient rotor RPM for an autorotation.
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 had completed about one hour of logging and was en route to the refueling point. The engine quit when the helicopter was about 200 ft over a wooded area. Witnesses observed the helicopter in a nose high attitude, followed by slowing of the main rotor blades. One witness recalled the helicopter rotated about 180 deg before colliding with trees. The pilot was removed from the helicopter before it burst into flames & was destroyed. Before the pilot died, he reported the fuel gage was indicating between 100 and 200 lbs before it crashed. An exam of the helicopter failed to reveal any preimpact mechanical problems. The operating policy was to refuel with 800 pounds of fuel plus 200 pounds as a safety net. At 200 ft AGL, a forward speed of over 48 mph would have been needed to be out of the shaded area of the height-velocity chart for this helicopter.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4875M
- Reported as
- Sikorsky HSS-1N
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 147987
- Engine
- Wright R-1820, 525 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Registered owner
- Liberty Helicopters
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 41
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 34 in the last 90 days · 34 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.