Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Los Banos, California 93635
Thursday, June 10, 2010 20:30 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that during an aerial application flight he lined up for a downwind spray pass at an approximate height of three feet above the crop. During the pass the engine sputtered and died. He entered an auto-rotation and attempted to slow the aircraft down from 50 MPH. The aircraft subsequently impacted terrain and came to rest on its side. The pilot noted that the helicopter was refueled for the second time during the job about an hour prior to the accident. An FAA Inspector's report noted that the helicopter was not refueled to its proper quantity, causing the pilot to miscalculate the fuel on-board. Post impact inspection of the aircraft revealed an estimated two gallons or less of fuel in the tank, and that there were no ruptures in the fuel tank. During the on-scene inspection there was no odor of fuel at the accident site. Post-recovery engine tests revealed that the engine operated without any significant issues and fuel contamination was ruled out.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the pilot's failure to verify the fuel quantity onboard.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/10/2010 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 2030 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Los Banos |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 93635 |
| Event Date Year | 2010 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 365900N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1204000W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 8 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| 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) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 310 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 10 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| 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) | 27061 |
| 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 | Jul 20 2010 2:59PM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N38110 |
| NTSB Number | WPR10CA285 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | TEXAS HELICOPTER CORP |
| Aircraft Model | OH-13E/M74 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 77-010 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2850 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jan 20 2010 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 8188 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BETTENCOURT FLYING SERVICE INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1066 S BERT CRANE RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | ATWATER |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 95301-9713 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | BETTENCOURT FLYING SERVICE INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1066 S BERT CRANE RD |
| Operator City | ATWATER |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 95301-9713 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Agriculture |
| 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) | Aerial Application |
| Second Pilot on Board | -- |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Atwater |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1730 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Los Banos |
| Destination State | CA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 21 2010 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| 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 | -- |