- Date
- April 1, 1994, 12:40 local (20:40 UTC)
- Place
- Rimrock, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5211RHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 7, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940401007519A
- Case key
- 41905
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, the pilot in command's failure to refuel the aircraft, and the inability to successfully execute an auto- rotation landing because of the low altitude.
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 was in a hover at 125 feet AGL and zero horizontal velocity when the engine quit. He had been conducting logging operations for approximately 40 minutes on a 200 pound fuel load. He executed an autorotation but landed hard with the helicopter rolling over. The pilot reported that he ran out of fuel while in the hover. Autorotation from 125 feet at zero airspeed was outside the parameters of the aircraft's 'height - velocity' diagram.
Factual narrative
On April 1, 1994, approximately 1240 hours Pacific standard time (pst), a Hughes 369D, N5211R, registered to Rex Bailes Corp., being operated by Chet Rasberry, Inc., and being flown by Timothy D. Lyons, a certificated commercial rotorcraft pilot, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a total power loss while in a hover near Rimrock, Washington. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was concluding a long line operation, was to have been conducted in accordance with 14CFR133, and had departed approximately 1200 local time with 200 pounds of fuel.
The pilot reported that while in a hover, approximately 125 feet above ground, he experienced a loss of power. He executed an autorotation and a hard landing followed during which the helicopter rolled over. The pilot reported to the operator that he had run out of gas.
A representative of the manufacturer stated that autorotations conducted from a zero airspeed hover of 125 feet above ground were within the "dead man's curve" area of the aircraft's "Height - Velocity" diagram.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5211R
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1161D
- Airframe hours
- 4,230
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Chet Rasberry, Inc., doing business as Cri Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Rex Bailes Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · January 20, 1994 · 57 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,200 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 60 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- YKM, 80 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 N5211R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.