Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Cloquet, Minnesota 55720
Friday, April 9, 1999 20:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, he was 10 miles from Cloquet Carlton County Airport when he noticed a low fuel pressure warning. The pilot stated that he knew of a field that he could land in, five miles from his current position, and decided to maneuver the helicopter to that location. The pilot reported that while over the predetermined field, at approximately 300 feet above ground level, the engine lost total power and he began an autorotation towards the field. The pilot stated that he performed a run-on landing, in order to avoid two posts, and came to rest in an upright attitude. The pilot reported that he did not see the reflecting posts until the aircraft was near the ground because of the low light condition. The pilot reported that he had 35-gallons of fuel when he departed Crystal Airport at 1905. The pilot stated that the flight time, from Crystal Airport to Cloquet Carlton County Airport, was typically 1.2 hours to 1.5 hours. According to the Chief Pilot of the Minneapolis State Police, the fuel burn for the accident helicopter was 25 gallons/hour. In a telephone conversation with the investigator-in-charge, the pilot indicated that he ran out of fuel during the accident flight.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadequate fuel management which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. Related factors were the pole and dusk light conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/9/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 2015 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | CLOQUET |
| Event State | MINNESOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 55720 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1955 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 200 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | COQ |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1279 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 3 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 80 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 22 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 110 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 314 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 19 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1645 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2000 11:29AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N119SP |
| NTSB Number | CHI99LA130 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 206B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 206B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 3151 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3200 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 9 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 6703 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | MINNESOTA STATE PATROL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 515 EATON STREET SUITE 102 |
| Aircraft Owner City | SAINT PAUL |
| Aircraft Owner State | MN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 55107 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MIC |
| Departure City | MINNEAPOLIS |
| Departure State | MN |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1905 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | COQ |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | MN |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:34AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |