- Date
- August 5, 1987, 15:15 local (22:15 UTC)
- Place
- Taft, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N917BBell 47D-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870805082279A
- Case key
- 25659
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 plt rprtd the eng lost power at about 300' AGL after the helicopter had flown aprx 2.7 hrs without refueling. He initiated an autorotative landing; however, before touchdown, the main rotor blades contacted & severed the tail boom. An exam revealed the fuel tank was empty. No signs of fuel leakage were found. The helicopter had been equipped with a 210 HP franklin eng iaw a supplemental type certificate. There was no factory data on fuel consumption rates for this configuration. Other operators, who operated this make & model of helicopter, estimated the fuel consumption was aprx 12 gal/hr. After the acdnt, the plt rprtd he measured the fuel capacity of the helicopter fuel cell. He stated the cell would hold only 26.5 gal of fuel, instead of '29' as indcd by a stick-on marker that had been installed on a previously painted placard.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N917B
- Reported as
- Bell 47D-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 606
- Airframe hours
- 63,465
- Engine
- Franklin 6V4, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Helt Engineering Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 1, 1987 · 767 hours before
- Departed
- BFL · Bakersfield, CA
- Destination
- L17 · Taft, CA
- Airport
- Taft
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,913 total · 474 in this make and model · 1,677 as pilot in command · 169 in the last 90 days · 91 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFL, 25 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 N917B · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.