Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Victoria, Texas 77904
Monday, May 16, 2011 13:05 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
Shortly after departure, the pilot observed the engine-out caution light and received an audible alarm. The pilot then saw the automatic re-ignition light illuminate. Since the engine appeared to be operating at a reduced power setting, the pilot elected to perform a run-on landing. During the landing, the helicopter encountered a ditch, and the tail rotor struck the ground. A postaccident examination of the helicopter found that the fuel control governor limit switch, located on the pilot's collective, was set near the minimum limit (low power setting). No other anomalies were found with the airframe. The engine was removed and run on a testing system with no defects noted. According to the helicopter manufacturer, the warnings and power reduction that the pilot observed were consistent with the position of the limit switch as found. Therefore, it is likely that the reduction in engine power resulted from the improper setting of the governor limit switch.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to ensure that the governor limit switch was properly set, which resulted in reduced engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/16/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1305 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Victoria |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77904 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 285304N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0965019W |
| 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 | 1251 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KVCT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 115 |
| 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 | -- |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 9 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KVCT 161751Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 28/09 A3000 |
| 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 | 4 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30397 |
| NTSB Notification Source | SAT FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 29 2012 6:56PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N4278T |
| NTSB Number | CEN11LA339 |
| 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 | MD HELICOPTER |
| Aircraft Model | 369E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 0605E |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3000 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 2 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Feb 28 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 80 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | WELLS FARGO BANK NORTHWEST NA TRUSTEE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 299 S MAIN ST FL 12 |
| Aircraft Owner City | SALT LAKE CITY |
| Aircraft Owner State | UT |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 84111 |
| Operator is an individual? | Yes |
| Operator Name | WELLS FARGO BANK NORTHWEST NA TRUSTEE |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 299 S MAIN ST FL 12 |
| Operator City | SALT LAKE CITY |
| Operator State | UT |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 84111 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KVCT |
| Departure City | Victoria |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | KHOU |
| Destination City | Houston |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 29 2012 1:30PM |
| User who most recently changed record | snyg |
| 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 | -- |