Summary
On September 22, 2005, a Hiller UH 12-E (N141HA) was involved in an incident near Five Points, CA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to refuel the helicopter, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
On September 21, 2005, at 2200 Pacific daylight time, the pilot flying a Hiller UH 12-E, N141HA, made a hard forced landing near Five Points, California. The pilot owned the helicopter, and he operated it under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight. The helicopter sustained substantial damage, and the commercial helicopter pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed about 30 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector that he had just finished spraying a biological organic insecticide and was returning to the truck to reload and refuel.
This incident is documented in NTSB report LAX05CA313. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N141HA.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's failure to refuel the helicopter, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
On September 21, 2005, at 2200 Pacific daylight time, the pilot flying a Hiller UH 12-E, N141HA, made a hard forced landing near Five Points, California. The pilot owned the helicopter, and he operated it under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight. The helicopter sustained substantial damage, and the commercial helicopter pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed about 30 minutes prior to the accident. No flight plan had been filed.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the pilot. The pilot reported to the FAA inspector that he had just finished spraying a biological organic insecticide and was returning to the truck to reload and refuel. He was making a left pedal turn, and returning to the truck when the engine lost all power. At the time the helicopter's airspeed was about zero miles per hour, and the helicopter was about 75 feet about the ground. The pilot reported that he leveled the skids and landed hard on the flat open field. Thereafter, the helicopter bounced into the air, landed again, spun around two times, and finally came to rest on its right skid supported by the main rotor blades. The pilot reported that during the accident sequence the main rotor blades chopped off the tail boom.
According to the pilot, he had sprayed two 25-acre blocks prior to the accident. For the first flight he had refueled with 25 gallons of fuel, and the helicopter was carrying a full load of insecticide. On the second flight he took on only insecticide. On the third (accident flight), he again only took on insecticide. The pilot reported that his normal procedure is to refuel on the second flight, which he did not do. He reported that with 25 gallons of fuel on board he could fly about 20 minutes with a 10-minute reserve.
The pilot told the FAA that he should have refueled after the second block, and he ran out of fuel. He further reported that there were no mechanical anomalies noted with the helicopter.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX05CA313