- Date
- October 30, 1984, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Mc Cordsville, IN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8069GHughes 500D/369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19841030059409A
- Case key
- 12807
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
The helicopter landed hard during an autorotative descent while on a test flt & chopped off the tail boom. The plt stated he lost power at 150 ft AGL & entered autorotation. Investigation revealed that the fuel quantity float had become intangled with the fuel pump electrical line. This resulted in an indication of 150 lbs of fuel on the fuel gauge when in fact there was no fuel in the tanks, lines or filters. There is a warning in the maintenance manual stating the fuel pump electrical line should be tie wrapped to the fuel line so as not to interfere with the float.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8069G
- Reported as
- Hughes 500D/369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 02320
- Airframe hours
- 3,322
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Registered owner
- Trafficopters, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 29, 1983 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- 121 · Brookside, IN
- Airport
- I21 · Brookside
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,588 total · 1,026 in this make and model · 44 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IND, 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.