- Date
- August 5, 1989, 14:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sarasota, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3550Bell 47G-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890805027339A
- Case key
- 32474
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
The student pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel. Factors related to the accident were: the student pilot's lack of total experience & tree(s) in the emergency landing area.
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 student plt observed that he had less than full fuel during his preflt inspn; however, he thought he would have enough fuel for his intended solo x-country flt. Nearing the end of his round robin flt (about 1 mi from his home base), the eng lost power. The student made an autorotation, but the helicopter hit a tree during the landing.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3550
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-2
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1942
- Engine
- Lycoming VO-435-A1D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Dolphin Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SRQ · Sarasota, FL
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 224 total · 44 in this make and model · 114 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- SRQ, 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 N3550 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.