Schweizer 269C-1 N61447

Summary

On 12 July 2007 at about 11:11 local time, a Schweizer 269C-1 registered N61447, operated by Jarlath P O'Brien, was involved in an accident near Immokalee, Florida, 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

12 July 2007 at 11:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Immokalee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Immokalee (IMM)

Coordinates

26.4233, -81.4006

Aircraft

Schweizer 269C-1

Registration

N61447

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Jarlath P O'Brien

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Immokalee → Immokalee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL07CA103

Nobody was injured.

The pilot left the helicopter unattended with the engine operating which resulted in an inadvertent rollover.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he conducted the preflight checks of his helicopter and everything checked out fine. He started the helicopter and everything was "normal". He picked the helicopter up to a hover and taxied over to the airport's fuel pumps. The pilot brought the rpm back to 1,800 rpm, and put the friction on the cyclic and collective. The pilot stated that his passenger was sitting on the left hand side, and before he got out of the helicopter he asked him not to touch the controls. The pilot proceeded over to the fuel credit card system when he heard a noise. He looked behind him and the helicopter was rolling over on its side. The helicopter hit the ground and the engine stopped. The pilot asked the passenger to switch off the master switch, and then he helped him out of the helicopter. The pilot stated that he would not "Hot Refuel" on his own in the future. The airport manager reported that the pilot has been told many times that "Hot Refueling" was prohibited at this airport. In the airport operation instruction manual section 4.02 Fueling Operations (a.1) states: "No aircraft shall be fueled or de-fueled while one or more of its engines are running or the aircraft is being warmed by external heat".

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.