Bell 47G 3B 1 N112SH

Summary

On 28 May 2015 at about 20:30 local time, a Bell 47G 3B 1 registered N112SH, operated by Scotts Helicopter Service, was involved in an accident near Fort Pierre, South Dakota, 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

28 May 2015 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Pierre, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

44.4939, -100.7461

Aircraft

Bell 47G 3B 1

Registration

N112SH

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Scotts Helicopter Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Fort Pierre

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA15CA097

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight fuel planning that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter during the subsequent autorotation landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during cruise flight the helicopter's engine had a total loss of power and he made an emergency landing in a wheat field. He said the main rotor blades contacted the tail boom and sheared off the tail rotor during the landing. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor, tail rotor drive shaft, and tail boom. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported using a placard as a reference for a fuel tank sight gauge. A postaccident examination by an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector revealed approximately three and one-half gallons of fuel in the right fuel tank and approximately one and one-half gallons of fuel in the left fuel tank. This make and model of helicopter has a capacity of 61 gallons of fuel of which 57.5 gallons of fuel is useable and three and one-half gallons of fuel are unusable. The fuel lines to the engine are located in the rear of the fuel tanks. A pitch attitude change such as a banking turn or nose down attitude, could have caused a disruption in fuel flow to the engine with the low fuel levels that were found in the fuel tanks.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.