Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Petersburg Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Petersburg, Alaska 99833
Friday, July 30, 1999 18:04 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The certificated commercial pilot was returning to the airport. He stated that he knew he was low on fuel, but thought he had enough fuel to return since the low fuel light had not illuminated. He said that while on approach to land at the airport, about 400 feet above the runway, all engine power was lost. He entered an autorotation, flared the helicopter about five feet above the runway, and touched down on the runway edge. The pilot said that as the helicopter touched down, the left skid assembly collapsed, and the helicopter rolled over to the left. A pilot-rated witness observed the helicopter enter an autorotation to the runway, and while still about 50 feet above the runway, the accident pilot flared, and the rotor rpm decayed rapidly. He said that the helicopter landed hard on the left skid, which collapsed the left skid, and the helicopter rolled over on its left side. An FAA inspector that examined the helicopter stated that the fuel quantity indicator read 'zero,' and that the fuel low indicator light was not illuminated. He said that when the 'press to test' feature on the warning light was used, the light then illuminated. He added that an inspection of the helicopter's fuel cell revealed about one pint of fuel remaining. The McDonnell Douglas (Hughes) 500D pilot operating handbook, Emergency and Malfunctions Procedures section, states: 'CAUTION: Never use the FUEL LEVEL LOW light as a working indication of fuel quantity.'
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to refuel the helicopter prior to fuel exhaustion. Factors associated with the accident were an inoperative low fuel warning system, and the pilot's improper autorotation.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/30/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1804 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | PETERSBURG |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99833 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | PETERSBURG |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | PSG |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 107 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Not pertinent |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1804 Atlantic Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PAP |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 107 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | ADT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Unknown |
| 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) | 18 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 80 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| 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) | 700 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 30 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 12 2000 11:43AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N103FW |
| NTSB Number | ANC99LA100 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hughes |
| Aircraft Model | 369D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 369D |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 811073D |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3000 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 23 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 17 |
| Airframe Hours | 3954 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ALPINE HELICOPTERS, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | P.O.BOX 1478 |
| Aircraft Owner City | WARD COVE |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99928 |
| 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 | 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | PSG |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1550 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| 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 | Approach |
| 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 | 4 |
| Runway Length | 6000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |