- Date
- October 16, 2014, 15:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Prattville, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N59541Bell 206B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-hover: Fuel exhaustion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 15, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20141016018859A
- Case key
- 90265
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
The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The helicopter pilot stated that the purpose of the approximate 2-hour cross-country flight was to perform aerial mapping of powerlines. The helicopter was due for a fuel pump replacement at the end of the flight and maintenance personnel requested that the pilot land with as little fuel as possible. He departed with 60 gallons of fuel and thought he would land with about 10 gallons; however, the flight took longer than the pilot anticipated. About 2 hours, 15 minutes into the flight, as the helicopter was in a 50-foot hover over the destination airport, the engine lost all power. The pilot performed an autorotation to a taxiway, but the helicopter landed hard and the tailboom separated. The pilot added that the accident would not have happened if he followed the Federal Aviation Regulation minimum fuel requirements and had properly calculated time and fuel consumption. The pilot also reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter and examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any.
Factual narrative
The helicopter pilot stated that the purpose of the approximate 2-hour cross-country flight was to perform aerial mapping of powerlines. The helicopter was due for a fuel pump replacement at the end of the flight and maintenance personnel requested that the pilot land with as little fuel as possible. He departed with 60 gallons of fuel and thought he would land with about 10 gallons; however, the flight took longer than the pilot anticipated. About 2 hours, 15 minutes into the flight, as the helicopter was in a 50-foot hover over the destination airport, the engine lost all power. The pilot performed an autorotation to a taxiway, but the helicopter landed hard and the tailboom separated. The pilot added that the accident would not have happened if he followed the Federal Aviation Regulation minimum fuel requirements and had properly calculated time and fuel consumption. The pilot also reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter and examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59541
- Reported as
- Bell 206B (B)
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1412
- Built
- 1974
- Airframe hours
- 23,629
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20 SER, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- English Air Service Inc
- Registered owner
- English Air Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · September 11, 2014
- Departed
- PLR · Pell City, AL
- Destination
- 1A9 · Prattville, AL
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- 1A9 · Prattville
- Equipment
- Satellite tracking device
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 31, 2014
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,861 total · 1,855 in this make and model · 3,692 as pilot in command · 68 in the last 90 days · 21 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- 1A9
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 9, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.1 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N59541 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.