Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Friday, March 8, 1991 17:40 HST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

IN WRITTEN AND ORAL STATEMENTS PROVIDED BY THE PILOT AND PASSENGER, THE AIRCRAFT'S ENGINE WAS STARTED ABOUT 1420 HOURS HST. THE HELICOPTER DEPARTED HONOLULU, HAWAII, FOR A RESEARCH VESSEL LOCATED ABOUT 130 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH. THE PILOT WAS NOT ABLE TO LOCATE THE SHIP AND DECIDED TO RETURN TO HONOLULU. THE PILOT ESTABLISHED RADIO CONTACT WITH HONOLULU TRACON AND REPORTED MINIMUM FUEL STATUS. ABOUT 15 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH OF HONOLULU, THE ENGINE LOST TOTAL POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. THE PILOT SUCCESSFULLY AUTOROTATED TO THE WATER, BUT AFTER TOUCHING DOWN THE RIGHT FORWARD EMERGENCY FLOTATION GEAR DEFLATED, CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO SINK.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

INACCURATE FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATION BY THE PILOT. A FACTOR WAS THE PARTIAL DEFLATION OF THE EMERGENCY FLOTATION EQUIPMENT.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/8/1991
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1740
Event Time Zone Hawaii Standard Time
Event City HONOLULU
Event State HAWAII
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 96819
Event Date Year 1991
Event Date Month 3
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 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
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 1800
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 80
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 25
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 268
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time 0
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 43263
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 9:32AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2072C
NTSB Number LAX91LA127
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BELL
Aircraft Model 206B
Aircraft Series Identifier 206B
Aircraft Serial Number 3422
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection Jan 2 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KENAI AIR OF HAWAII
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 30301
Aircraft Owner City HONOLULU
Aircraft Owner State HI
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name KENAI AIR OF HAWAII, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 30301
Operator City HONOLULU
Operator State HI
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code DCBA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger Only
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1425
Departure Time Zone HST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
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 --