- Date
- June 28, 1987, 09:35 local (16:35 UTC)
- Place
- Salinas, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6288NBell 47G-5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870628027489A
- Case key
- 25348
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
At the end of an aerial application operation, enroute to the airport, the engine quit. The pilot autorotated the helicopter onto a soft field, where on touchdown, the helicopter was substantially damaged. Inspection of the helicopter revealed that the fuel tanks contained less than the usable amount of fuel for operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6288N
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-5
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 7888
- Airframe hours
- 5,349
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-B1A, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Soilserv, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special); Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1987 · 79 hours before
- Destination
- SNS · Salinas, CA
- Airport
- SNS · Salinas
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
- 53
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,957 total · 4,500 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SNS, 1 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 N6288N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.