- Date
- June 6, 1991, 15:20 local (Jun 7, 1991, 01:20 UTC)
- Place
- Lihue, HI
- Injuries
- 3 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N212OXBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 7, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 27236
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
Fuel exhaustion. Factors related to the accident was the failure of the pilot-in-command to ensure that sufficient fuel was available for the flight.
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 pilot was conducting a sightseeing helicopter tour and noticed a fuel pump caution light. He then noticed that the fuel level was low but decided that sufficient fuel was available to complete a landing approach to the departure helipad. At about 50 feet a.g.l. and about 40 knots of airspeed, the engine quit. During the autorotation, the helicopter sustained a hard landing, collapsing the landing gear and then impacting an airport perimeter fence. All available fuel was exhausted. The helicopter was refueled prior to the third departure, of a total of five flights. Following a lunch break, the pilot departed on the accident flight. Company manifest sheets for each flight list a standard fuel load of 40 or 65 gallons. In this accident, the manifest sheets did not accurately reflect the actual quantity of fuel on board for each flight. The pilot did not visually verify the actual fuel amount before the accident flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N212OX
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 3463
- Airframe hours
- 16,018
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 91
- Operator
- Curtis Lofstedt Jr., doing business as Island Helicopter Kauai Inc.
- Registered owner
- Curtis Lofstedt Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · May 17, 1991
- Airport
- LIH · Lihue
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 2,260 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LIH, 2 nm away