Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Fillmore, Utah 84631
Tuesady, November 25, 2008 12:45 MST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
According to the pilot, during cruise flight the helicopter's engine lost power and it entered an autorotation. The helicopter was over mountainous/hilly terrain and there was no open place to land. The pilot selected a spot on a steep hill covered with 20- to 30-foot-tall oak trees. Upon touchdown, the helicopter began to roll, but was stopped by the vegetation. The tailboom incurred structural damage during the landing. Postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the fuel pump filter bowl's upper drain plug had been replaced with a non-standard threaded nipple fitting and cap. This cap was found with zero torque (loose) and partially backed off of its seat. Less than two threads retained the cap on its fitting. In standard configuration, the upper and lower drain plugs are lock-wired to each other, thus ensuring both fittings remain properly torqued. On the accident engine, the lower drain plug was lock-wired to the upper drain's threaded nipple fitting. However, the cap was not lockwired. The fuel spray nozzle's fuel supply line was found to be devoid of any residual fuel. (This line would typically have about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of fuel following a normal engine shutdown.) The engine was removed from the airframe and shipped to the facilities of the engine manufacturer for a test run. The suspect loose cap was gently tightened with a wrench. The engine was then run and met all test cell parameters for new engine production. Since the fuel pump filter bowl operates at a negative pressure during operation, a compromise at this point in the fuel system would not result in a fuel leak, but would rather result in an air induction into the fuel system, interrupting the supply of fuel to the fuel spray nozzle.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of a loose fuel filter upper drain cap, which was not properly secured by maintenance personnel.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/25/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1245 |
| Event Time Zone | Mountain Standard Time |
| Event City | Fillmore |
| Event State | UTAH |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 84631 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 385729N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1122147W |
| 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 | 1452 Mountain Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 210 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MLF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 5039 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 45 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | MST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| 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) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -6 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| 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) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25323 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2009 5:39PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9154F |
| NTSB Number | WPR09LA048 |
| 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 | HUGHES |
| Aircraft Model | 369HS |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 930517S |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 18 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 34 |
| Airframe Hours | 21496 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | SKYHAWK HELICOPTER SERVICE, INC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | PO BOX 159 |
| Aircraft Owner City | ST GEORGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84771-0159 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | SKYHAWK HELICOPTER SERVICE, INC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | PO BOX 159 |
| Operator City | ST GEORGE |
| Operator State | UT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 84771-0159 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Business |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | RIF |
| Departure City | Richfield |
| Departure State | UT |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1230 |
| Departure Time Zone | MST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | U77 |
| Destination City | Spanish Fork |
| Destination State | UT |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 7 2009 5:36PM |
| User who most recently changed record | coos |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |