# NTSB LAX05CA313: Hiller UH 12-E, N141HA, Five Points, CA, September 22, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 21, 2005, 22:00 local (Sep 22, 2005, 05:00 UTC) - Place: Five Points, CA - Coordinates: 36.363609, -119.941947 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3636&lon=-119.9419&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 31, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 62549 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX05CA313 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62549/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05CA313 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to refuel the helicopter, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, maneuvering - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - Hard landing, emergency landing - terrain condition - open field ## Analysis All engine power was lost while the pilot was maneuvering at a low altitude during an aerial application flight. The pilot made a hard forced landing in an open field and bounced. Thereafter, the main rotor blades severed the tail boom. The accident occurred during the third aerial application flight. For the first flight he had refueled with 25 gallons of fuel, and the helicopter was carrying a full load of insecticide. On the second flight he took on only insecticide. On the third (accident flight), he again only took on insecticide. The pilot reported that his normal procedure is to refuel on the second flight, which he did not do. He reported that with 25 gallons of fuel on board he could fly about 20 minutes with a 10-minute reserve. The pilot acknowledged that he should have refueled after the second application, but failed to do so and experienced fuel exhaustion. No mechanical anomalies were reported with the helicopter. ## Factual narrative On September 21, 2005, at 2200 Pacific daylight time, the pilot flying a Hiller UH 12-E, N141HA, made a hard forced landing near Five Points, California. The pilot owned the helicopter, and he operated it under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight. The helicopter sustained substantial damage, and the commercial helicopter pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed about 30 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector that he had just finished spraying a biological organic insecticide and was returning to the truck to reload and refuel. He was making a left pedal turn, and returning to the truck when the engine lost all power. At the time the helicopter's airspeed was about zero miles per hour, and the helicopter was about 75 feet about the ground. The pilot reported that he leveled the skids and landed hard on the flat open field. Thereafter, the helicopter bounced into the air, landed again, spun around two times, and finally came to rest on its right skid supported by the main rotor blades. The pilot reported that during the accident sequence the main rotor blades chopped off the tail boom. According to the pilot, he had sprayed two 25-acre blocks prior to the accident. For the first flight he had refueled with 25 gallons of fuel, and the helicopter was carrying a full load of insecticide. On the second flight he took on only insecticide. On the third (accident flight), he again only took on insecticide. The pilot reported that his normal procedure is to refuel on the second flight, which he did not do. He reported that with 25 gallons of fuel on board he could fly about 20 minutes with a 10-minute reserve. The pilot told the FAA that he should have refueled after the second block, and he ran out of fuel. He further reported that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the helicopter. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N141HA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N141HA-2018-01-02), registration cancelled 2018-01-02, S/N HA3041, built 1976 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Hiller UH 12-E - Registry model: [Hiller UH-12E](https://openairdocs.org/model/hiller-uh-12e) (registry code 4360122) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming VO-540 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-vo-540-series) (registry code 41534, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: HA 3041 - Engines: Lycoming VO-540-C2A 305 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Huron AG Helicopter Inc. - Registered owner: Clay H. McBain - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Departed: Five Points, CA - Destination: Five Points, CA ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 60; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2; seat: center; flight hours: 8,000 total, 6,000 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/bright - Wind: 315° at 2 knots - Visibility: 25 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 158 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050921020819A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050921020819A), Sep 21, 2005: Hiller UH12E, Five Points, CA, Substantial damage. (-23) On 9/21/2005, at approximately 2200 hours PDT, Hiller UH-12E helicopter, N141HA, crashed approximately 12.5 miles west of Five Points, CA. N141HA,… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.