- Date
- July 18, 1988, 07:30 local (11:30 UTC)
- Place
- Clewiston, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N108HAHiller UH-12E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 9, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880718028129A
- Case key
- 32213
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 stated the fuel gages indicated 20 gals when he took off on spraying flt. He had just completed the spray run & started to pull up from about 10 ft & 25 mph. At that time the eng quit '& sounded just like it would if it ran out of gas'. There was not enough alt or airspeed for autorotation & chopper hit ground in high sink rate & partially fell into a canal. The plt stated in tel conversation with NTSB that afternoon that he thought he had run out of gas. At the scene, FAA visually checked fuel quantity through the filler opening & thought tank to be empty. The next day, the pilot called FAA & said he drained 2.5 gals of fuel from acft & that he had found a fuel vent clogged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N108HA
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-12E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- HA 3008
- Airframe hours
- 2,089
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-540-C2A, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Taylor Helicopter, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 14, 1988 · 99 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
- 48
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 1,250 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 38 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 N108HA · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.