Probable cause
A total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to land as soon as possible when the master caution warning light first illuminated as prescribed and his failure to ensure the proper setting of the caution panel segment lights before the flight.
NTSB analysis
The pilot reported that he departed with a quantity of fuel that would nominally provide for 1.2 hours of flight. Twenty minutes into the 45-minute flight, the master caution warning light illuminated with no discernible corresponding panel segment caution light. The published emergency procedure for this scenario was to land as soon as possible. Instead, the pilot continued flight as the master caution warning light illuminated three more times over the next 15 minutes. The engine then experienced a total loss of power. The pilot entered an autorotation and completed a forced landing to trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter.
A detailed examination of the fuel system and associated warnings, airframe, engine controls, and fluid and pneumatic lines and a test run of the engine revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. About 10 to 11 gallons (65 pounds) of fuel were recovered from the helicopter, of which 1.3 gallons was unusable. Examination of the master caution light and associated caution panel segment lights revealed that the segment lights were positioned to the "dim" setting, which would have made it difficult or impossible to read in daylight conditions. The low fuel caution light was set to illuminate when there was between 65 and 98 pounds of fuel remaining. However, the manual advised that that illumination of the low fuel caution light does not mean that a fixed time remains and that the remaining fuel may not be available unless the helicopter remains in level or coordinated flight.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA14LA269 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- May 30, 2014
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Whitefield, Maine
- Nearest airport
- Maine Helicopters (ME59)
- Highest injury
- Minor
- Minor injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Garlick Helicopters Inc OH 58A+
- N-number
- N650MH
- Category
- Helicopter
- Year built
- 1971
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Positioning
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.