- Date
- July 7, 1989, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Longview, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N53WBell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 7, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890707020969A
- Case key
- 41044
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 pilot inadvertently turning off the engine fuel supply instead of the external load fuel supply. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to jettison the external load during the autorotation.
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
This heliocpter had just depleted the fuel in an external burning unit and was returning to a staging area when the helicopter engine quit. The pilot stated he had turned off the external unit just before the engine failure. Examination of the helicopter engine and fuel system revealed no discrepancies. It was observed that the operator had located the external unit control switch about three inches above the main fuel shutoff switch. After the accident, the external switch was found 'on' and the main fuel shutoff switch was found 'off'.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53W
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 945
- Airframe hours
- 11,731
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Weyerhaeuser Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 18, 1989 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- Chehalis, WA
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 4,700 total · 600 in this make and model · 4,500 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.