- Date
- June 1, 1983, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Devils Tower, WY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N80711Bell 47G3-B1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830601022889A
- Case key
- 16087
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 acft crash landed in trees after the engine lost power. The helicopter was being used in aerial application at the time of the accident. The operation was being done in 8 minute segments. Every 8 minutes the helicopter landed for a reload of herbicide. At about 1430-1500 hours the acft was refueled with 29 gallons of 100 octane fuel. At 1600 hours the engine ceased operation 3 minutes after a takeoff. The acft was at 50 ft AGL going about 30 mph. There was no clear area for a landing so the pilot autorotated into trees. The acft has an endurance of about one and one half hours. During the first interview the pilot said the acft ran out of fuel. No fuel was aboard the acft after the accident. The pilot later found an an fitting was loose on the gas tank sump drain. He said it was not leaking when the acft was refueled. The pilot found an area of leaked fuel which he estimated at 5 gallons near the sump drain. The acft has only one fuel tank and it contains 2 unusable gallons of fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80711
- Reported as
- Bell 47G3-B1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3815
- Airframe hours
- 3,607
- Engine
- Lycoming IVO-435, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Agri Helicopters
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 27, 1983 · 16 hours before
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
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,550 total · 4,570 in this make and model · 5,250 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.