- Date
- November 4, 1986, 16:45 local (22:45 UTC)
- Place
- Becker, MN
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4247SSikorsky S-58ET
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 7, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861104053349A
- Case key
- 13619
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 (hel) was being used on an external load opn to psn a 2500 lb ventilator to the roof of a bldg. On the next to last load, the plt radioed that he noted a momentary illumination of the fuel bypass advisory light. He elected to cont the opn & returned to the staging area to pick up the 2500 lb load. When the load was aprx 8' fm the roof top, witnesses noted the load (& hel) bgn to settle. The plt rlsd the load as the rotor RPM bgn decreasing & mnvrd away fm the roof. The hel hovered momentarily ovr an elevated conveyor, then there was an adnl loss of RPM. As the hel dscndd, the main & tail rotors hit the conveyor & the hel fell aprx 150' & crashed in a nose down attitude. The fwd fuel bladdersplit open drg impact. The aft fuel bladder contained a usable, but undetermined, amount of fuel. Dirt was fnd in the fuel bladders & fuel filters, but no fuel blockage was noted. Fuel x-feed selector & vlv were fnd in the open psn. The flt manual limits the use of x-feed for emergency & cruise flt only; boost pump must be on when unused tank is empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4247S
- Reported as
- Sikorsky S-58ET
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 58-1493
- Airframe hours
- 4,136
- Engine
- P&W PT6T-6, 970 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Helicopter Corp.
- Registered owner
- North American Helicopter Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 9,961 total · 172 in this make and model · 9,041 as pilot in command · 169 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.