- Date
- September 5, 2002, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Las Cruces, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N716JBGray Rotorway Exec 90
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Case key
- 55649
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 failure to refuel the helicopter, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
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 student pilot checked the fuel tanks prior to the flight and determined the tanks contained enough fuel for the short trip. Shortly after takeoff, the engine lost total power. The student pilot initiated an autorotation, and subsequently, the helicopter sustained a hard landing. The student pilot did not have an endorsement for solo flight in the helicopter. Numerous attempts to obtain a completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) from the pilot were unsuccessful.
Factual narrative
On September 5, 2002, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time, a Gray RotorWay Exec 90 single-engine helicopter, N716JB, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing following a loss of engine power at the Las Cruces International Airport (LRU), Las Cruces, New Mexico. The student pilot, sole occupant and registered owner of the helicopter, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
According to an FAA inspector, who responded to the accident site, the student pilot checked the fuel tanks prior to the flight and determined that the tanks contained enough fuel for the short trip. Shortly after takeoff, the engine lost total power. The student pilot initiated an autorotation, and subsequently, the helicopter landed hard. The main rotor blades were bent, the tail rotor was destroyed, and the tail boom was separated. In addition, the inspector stated that the student pilot did not have an endorsement for solo flight in the helicopter.
Numerous attempts to obtain a completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) from the pilot were unsuccessful.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N716JB
- Reported as
- Gray Rotorway Exec 90
- Category
- Helicopter, amateur-built
- Serial number
- EXEC-3000
- Airframe hours
- 197
- Engine
- Rotorway RW-152, 152 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jim Robert Gray
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Departed
- LRU · Las Cruces, NM
- Destination
- LRU · Las Cruces, NM
- Airport
- LRU · Las Cruces International
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
- Student pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 197 total · 197 in this make and model · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.20 inHg
- Observed at
- LRU
Other investigations on N716JB · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.