N299RJ

On November 14, 2010, a Schweizer 300C (N299RJ) was involved in an incident near Broomfield, CO. All 2 people 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 inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper execution of an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

While returning back to his home field, the single-engine helicopter's engine began sputtering. The private pilot began looking for an open area to perform a precautionary landing. While descending for an unoccupied football field, the engine quit. The pilot continued the autorotation to the field. During the landing, the helicopter landed hard and spun counterclockwise before coming to rest in the upright position. Substantial damage was sustained to the tailboom. During an on-scene examination of the helicopter, the fuel tanks were both found empty. No fuel was found underneath the wreckage or on the field. After adding fuel to the engine the helicopter operator was able to run the engine at various engine settings with no anomalies.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN11CA068. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N299RJ.