Bell 206L-1 N601GM

Summary

On 25 September 2002 at about 15:15 local time, a Bell 206L-1 registered N601GM, operated by Silver State Helicopters, was involved in an accident near North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 September 2002 at 15:15

Classification

Accident

Location

North Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

North Las Vegas Airport (VGT)

Coordinates

36.2000, -115.1833

Aircraft

Bell 206L-1

Registration

N601GM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Silver State Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

North Las Vegas → North Las Vegas

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02LA295

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and loss of engine power due to an inadequate fuel supply.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter landed hard approximately 2 miles south of the destination airport following fuel exhaustion. The pilot arrived at the airport behind his intended schedule, and due to the delay, opted not to refuel the helicopter. He departed with 167 pounds of fuel onboard, equating to about 40 minutes of flight time, which he thought would be a sufficient amount for the flight. Upon arriving at his destination (a 3-minute flight), he was instructed to leave the helicopter running. When he decreased the throttle input, he disengaged the caution-panel circuit breaker in an effort to silence the low rotor rpm warning horn. He shut down the engine for a short break and then departed to go back to the airport. With the helicopter leveled off about 3,000 feet above ground level, he scanned the cockpit gauges and realized that he had not reset the panel circuit breaker. He pushed the breaker in and the low fuel light instantly illuminated, followed by the fuel boost warning lights. While the pilot was looking for suitable terrain to execute an emergency landing, the engine quit and he configured the helicopter in an autorotation. He flared about 18 feet above ground level and the helicopter fell to the ground. He input full collective prior to impact, but the helicopter touched down hard. The pilot stated that the helicopter's engine had quit due to fuel exhaustion.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.