- Date
- August 20, 1986, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Stockton, TX
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4493MHughes 369-500D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860820044119A
- Case key
- 22078
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 pilot entered autorotation after experiencing fuel exhaustion. The pilot knew he was low on fuel, but was depending on his warning light to indicate low fuel. The warning light never came on. On touchdown the tail rotor struck the ground causing the main rotor to severe the tail boom just aft of the horizontal stabilizer.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4493M
- Reported as
- Hughes 369-500D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 5701370
- Airframe hours
- 1,284
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- William O. Bowers
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 23, 1986 · 11 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
- 67
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 699 total · 5 in this make and model · 651 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 207° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 104 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MAF, 50 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.
Other investigations on N4493M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.