Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Malone, Texas 76660
Friday, June 6, 2003 17:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter was damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The operator reported that the pilot was positioning the helicopter after maintenance. The helicopter was in cruise when the engine lost power, and the pilot executed an autorotation. The helicopter landed hard, and the tailboom separated. Examination of the helicopter determined that the engine compartment and engine were not damaged. The particle separator was undamaged, and there was no blockage. The fuel control and power turbine governor rigging was intact and appeared normal. The bleed valve was in the open position. When closed by hand, it freely returned to the open position. The pneumatic tubing was intact, and all B-nuts were at least finger tight. N2 rotated freely and smoothly with no unusual noises, and was continuous to the main transmission. The fuel supply line from the fire shield to the fuel nozzle contained a normal amount of fuel. There was contamination in the airframe and engine fuel filters. Disassembly and inspection of the fuel nozzle revealed contamination in the filter screen. The screen had collapsed, and the contamination had the appearance of "DIEGME" (Apple Jelly).

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

a fuel starvation induced loss of engine power due to fuel contamination.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/6/2003
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1715
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Malone
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76660
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 315800N
Event Location Longitude 0965200W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1751 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID ACT
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4200
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 350
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.82
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20359
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 9 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 700
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Oct 3 2006 2:46PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FTW-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N242TK
NTSB Number LAX03LA183
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell
Aircraft Model 206B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 206B
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Goodwin Plumbing Service, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 212 S 22nd Street
Aircraft Owner City Waco
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76701-161
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Bardwell
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Waco
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jul 15 2006 2:12PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --