Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Mccormick, South Carolina 29835
Friday, March 30, 2012 17:30 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was en route to his destination airport and had not obtained a weather briefing. A weather front came through, and the wind changed from a tailwind to a headwind, so he could not reach is destination and diverted to an alternate airport to refuel. However, he landed at the wrong airport, and that airport did not have any Jet A fuel. He observed an automotive gas station and flew to it and landed in the grass nearby, even though he did not know what the approved alternate fuel was for the turbine engine. He purchased 25 gallons of 87 octane automotive fuel and placed it in the helicopter’s fuel tank. According to the engine manufacturer, automotive fuel is not an approved fuel on the list. He started the engine and departed. He was about 150 to 200 feet above the ground when the engine lost power. The engine-out audio and low-rpm audio sounded. He lowered the collective pitch as much as possible to clear a power line and reach an open field. Once clear of the power line, he lowered the collective pitch to the full-down position. The helicopter touched down hard in a tail-low attitude. The nose pitched downward, the tail boom separated, and the helicopter slid forward and rolled over on its right side. No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were found that would have precluded normal operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's decision to use automotive fuel instead of the approved alternate fuel, which resulted in a total loss of engine power.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/30/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1730 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | McCormick |
| Event State | SOUTH CAROLINA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 29835 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 335429N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0821600W |
| 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 | 1756 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 21 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | GRD |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 631 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 15 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 7500 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 14 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 21 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.88 |
| 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) | 31500 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 27 2013 11:16AM |
| User who most recently changed record | johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N868W |
| NTSB Number | ERA12LA260 |
| 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 | 369D |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1000800D |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3000 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| 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 | Mar 22 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 42 |
| Airframe Hours | 17804 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | DAH AIRCRAFT LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 16192 COASTAL HWY |
| Aircraft Owner City | LEWES |
| Aircraft Owner State | DE |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 19958-3608 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | DAH AIRCRAFT LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 16192 COASTAL HWY |
| Operator City | LEWES |
| Operator State | DE |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 19958-3608 |
| 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) | Positioning |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | MCCormick |
| Departure State | SC |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1729 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | AIK |
| Destination City | Aiken |
| Destination State | SC |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 27 2013 4:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |