- Date
- December 7, 1993, 13:55 local (21:55 UTC)
- Place
- Sublimity, OR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2297WHiller-Soloy UH-12D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19931207046099A
- Case key
- 41860
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 due to inadequate preflight and refueling not acomplished.
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 shut down external load operations for servicing the aircraft. While he was greasing the aircraft, he thought that the ground service personnel had refueled the aircraft. He reinitiated operations and the engine flamed out 36 minutes later. The pilot stated that the cause of the flameout was fuel exhaustion. He also stated that the PIC must perform adequate preflight to include assurance that aircraft had been refueled.
Factual narrative
On December 7, 1993, at approximately 1355 Pacific standard time, a Hiller-Soloy UH-12D helicopter, N2297W, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during an autorotation after the loss of power. The commercial pilot, who had been conducting christmas tree hauling external load operations near Sublimity, Oregon, under 14CFR133, was not injured. No flight plan was filed for the local flight, and weather was reported to be visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. There was no ELT installed in the aircraft, and no fire occurred.
The pilot stated that he had shut the aircraft down, and proceeded to grease the aircraft and add engine oil. After greasing, he noticed the fuel truck had been moved and the refueling hose secured. He said he assumed that the helicopter fuel tank had been refilled and did not check. He entered the cockpit and set the timer to 80 minutes and restarted the lifting operation. Thirty-six minutes into the operation cycle, the engine-out warning system activated with subsequent flameout. He released his load and descended to a hard landing. The aircraft bounced on ground contact and rolled to the left.
The pilot stated that the cause of the flameout was fuel exhaustion due to the lack of fuel. He also noted that the pilot should not assume that ground support personnel faithfully perform their functions, and that the PIC must perform adequate preflight to include assurance that his aircraft has been refueled.
FAA inspectors stated that the fuel tanks were bone dry, and when the battery master switch was turned on, the fuel gauge indicated zero.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2297W
- Reported as
- Hiller-Soloy UH-12D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1206
- Airframe hours
- 12,835
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20, 400 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Industrial Aviation, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Industrial Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 26, 1993 · 50 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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,400 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 131 in the last 90 days · 127 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N2297W · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.