- Date
- May 19, 1991, 09:21 local (16:21 UTC)
- Place
- Malott, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N73903Bell 47G-3B-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910519016509A
- Case key
- 41433
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
An undetermined failure of the fuel pump casing resulting in an in flight fire and loss of engine power.
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
During an aerial application flight, the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot tried to maneuver to an open area, however, the helicopter collided with trees. Post crash investigation revealed that the helicopter experienced an in flight fire. It was found that a section of the auxiliary fuel pump casing broke away in the area where the fuel line fitting screws into the pump. Due to fire damage, useful facture topography to determine the mode of failure was destroyed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73903
- Reported as
- Bell 47G-3B-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 2883
- Engine
- Lycoming TVO-435-A1A, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Cascade Helicopter
- Registered owner
- Cascade Helicopter
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,974 total · 1,150 in this make and model · 2,924 as pilot in command · 96 in the last 90 days · 49 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -0 °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.