Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
La Grande, Oregon 97850
Tuesady, April 21, 1998 10:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that after takeoff, when he attempted to turn the particle separator off about 200 feet above ground level, he immediately got a low fuel pressure indication and the engine then lost power. The helicopter touched down hard and rolled on its side in the ensuing forced landing. The pilot stated he believed he had inadvertently turned the fuel shutoff switch to OFF, rather than the particle separator switch. These two on-off switches are separated by about 2 inches on the instrument panel, and both actuate on and off in a common direction and along a common axis; the switches differ by shape only. In a post-accident examination, investigators found the FUEL/OIL switch OFF and the adjacent PART SEP switch ON. No evidence of pre-existing mechanical problems with the engine was reported. The K-1200 received normal-category FAA type certification in August 1994. FAA airworthiness standards for type certification of normal-category rotorcraft (contained in 14 CFR 27) require cockpit controls to be 'located to...prevent confusion and inadvertent operation', as well as 'means to guard against inadvertent operation of each shutoff.'
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's inadvertent shutdown of the engine with the FUEL/OIL shutoff switch. Contributing to the accident were: the manufacturer's inadequate location and design of the FUEL/OIL shutoff switch; the FAA's inadequate determination of the type design's compliance with applicable airworthiness standards; and the helicopter's low altitude at the time of the power loss.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/21/1998 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | LA GRANDE |
| Event State | OREGON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 97850 |
| Event Date Year | 1998 |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 0 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| 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) | 0 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 10 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 10 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| 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) | 857 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Apr 21 1998 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1500 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 16 2001 11:57AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N224GM |
| NTSB Number | SEA98LA065 |
| 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 | Kaman |
| Aircraft Model | K-1200 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | K-1200 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | A94-0022 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6500 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Apr 17 1998 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 22 |
| Airframe Hours | 1936 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | GRIZZLY MOUNTAIN AVIATION |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1110 E. LAUGHLIN RD. |
| Aircraft Owner City | PRINEVILLE |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97754 |
| 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 | GZ9L |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | External Load |
| 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 | |
| Departure City | STARKEY |
| Departure State | OR |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1030 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | |
| Destination City | LA GRANDE |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2001 6:29PM |
| 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 | -- |