Bell 206B N882NY accident near East Troy, Wisconsin

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper fuel management that resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power.

NTSB analysis

While approaching to land on a support truck, the helicopter experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to autorotate to land and the helicopter experienced a hard landing. The right skid broke, and the main rotor blades struck the ground and the tail boom. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail boom. The pilot attributed the loss of engine power due to a possible fuel pump failure.

During a telephone interview the pilot said that he took off from the airport ramp to refuel and the fuel gauge indicated about 15 to 20 gallons. He climbed the helicopter to about 40 ft, flew about 150 yards, and landed on a support truck where the helicopter idled for about 15 minutes while ground personnel attempted to get the truck fuel pump to work. One of the ground personnel waved the pilot off to another support truck. The helicopter climbed to about 40 ft and moved about 35 - 50 yards to a second support truck. As the helicopter approached to land, the tachometer dropped then spiked, and then the engine lost power. The pilot nosed the helicopter over to avoid the truck and the helicopter hit the ground. When asked the pilot answered, "I guess I ran out of fuel".

A postaccident examination of the helicopter revealed that the fuel tanks were dry and the fuel gauge indicated 0 gallons of fuel.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN22LA305 for the full record.