Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Prattville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Prattville, Alabama 36067
Thursday, October 16, 2014 15:15 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The helicopter pilot stated that the purpose of the approximate 2-hour cross-country flight was to perform aerial mapping of powerlines. The helicopter was due for a fuel pump replacement at the end of the flight and maintenance personnel requested that the pilot land with as little fuel as possible. He departed with 60 gallons of fuel and thought he would land with about 10 gallons; however, the flight took longer than the pilot anticipated. About 2 hours, 15 minutes into the flight, as the helicopter was in a 50-foot hover over the destination airport, the engine lost all power. The pilot performed an autorotation to a taxiway, but the helicopter landed hard and the tailboom separated. The pilot added that the accident would not have happened if he followed the Federal Aviation Regulation minimum fuel requirements and had properly calculated time and fuel consumption. The pilot also reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter and examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/16/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1515 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Prattville |
| Event State | ALABAMA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 36067 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 322619N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0863046W |
| Event Location Airport | Prattville |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 1A9 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 0 |
| Airport Elevation | 225 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1515 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | 1A9 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 225 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| 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) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 280 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.93 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 33525 |
| 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 | Dec 8 2014 4:00PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N59541 |
| NTSB Number | ERA15CA018 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BELL |
| Aircraft Model | 206B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | B |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1412 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3350 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 4 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 5 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Sep 11 2014 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 23629 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ENGLISH AIR SERVICE INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | SANTA MARIA |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 934556020 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | ENGLISH AIR SERVICE INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | SANTA MARIA |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 934556020 |
| Operator Code | EH4G |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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) | Aerial Observation |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | PLR |
| Departure City | Pell City |
| Departure State | AL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 1A9 |
| Destination City | Prattville |
| Destination State | AL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2014 4:01PM |
| User who most recently changed record | gots |
| 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 | -- |