Mid-South Custom Craft SH-2R N370LR

Summary

On 12 July 2009 at about 02:00 local time, a Mid-South Custom Craft SH-2R registered N370LR was involved in an accident near Sequim, Washington, United States. 2 people were 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 2009 at 02:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Sequim, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Diamond Point Airstrip (2WA1)

Coordinates

48.0889, -122.9236

Aircraft

Mid-South Custom Craft SH-2R

Registration

N370LR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Snohomish → Snohomish

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09CA342

Nobody was injured.

The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's failure to reposition the fuel selector to the main tank. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to properly complete the pre-takeoff checklist.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during engine run up prior to takeoff, he was "feeling a little rushed but using my checklist." About 40 minutes into the flight, when the airplane was at an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level about 2 miles from shore over ocean water, the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a 180-degree turn towards a nearby airport. During descent, the pilot turned on the fuel boost pump and "got a short power surge from the engine." The pilot did not "trouble-shoot the problem much" and did not attempt to restart the engine because he was “very focused” on reaching the airport. As the airplane neared the airport, the pilot realized he did not have enough altitude to make the runway and initiated a forced landing onto a grassy field. The airplane landed hard, and the landing gear collapsed. After exiting the airplane, the pilot observed that the fuel selector was positioned to the header tank instead of the main tank. At this point, he realized that he had missed a step in the pre-takeoff checklist and failed to select the main tank before takeoff. During the 40-minute flight, the 5.5 gallons of fuel in the header tank were consumed, and the engine lost power as a result of fuel starvation. According to the pilot, the airplane sustained structural damage to the fuselage and both wings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.