Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Bennettsville, South Carolina 29512
Saturday, October 12, 1996 19:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter was being used on an aerial application flight when it collided with the ground. There were no reported eyewitnesses to the accident. Head injuries of the pilot prevented him from giving a full account of the accident. Examination of the accident site disclosed that the tail section of the airframe collided with the ground, followed by the nose section colliding with a stump. Examination of the airframe and subsystems failed to disclose a mechanical problem. A review of the aircraft maintenance logs disclosed several open discrepancies. One discrepancy stated that the left fuel boost pump was not operational. According to the aircraft operator's manual, about 55 pounds of fuel would have been unusable in the left tank, if the boost pump was not operational. Wreckage examination revealed about 1/4 inch of fuel in the right fuel tank and about four inches (less than 55 pounds) of fuel in the left fuel tank. Neither the odor of fuel nor visible fuel leakage was noted at the accident site. Cockpit examination revealed that the left fuel pump boost circuit breaker was out. No fuel tank selector was installed in the UH-1B helicopter.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's improper planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power due to an inadequate supply of usable fuel. A factor relating to the accident was: an inoperative left boost pump, which increased the amount of unusable fuel in the respective tank.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/12/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1900 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | BENNETTSVILLE |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29512 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| 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 | 1650 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 175 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | FLO |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 65 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 20 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| 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) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 13 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 95 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1625 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 12 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2000 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 10:24AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N846MC |
| NTSB Number | ATL97LA002 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | UH-IB |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | UH-IB |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 60-3567 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8500 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 6 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 80 |
| Airframe Hours | 5654 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | AG ROTOR INC,. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1750 EMMITSBURG ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | GETTYSBURG |
| Aircraft Owner State | PA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 17325 |
| 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 | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Unknown |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Unknown |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Unknown |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1847 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing |
| 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 | -- |