McDonnell Douglas 369E N7065C

Summary

On 3 March 1996 at about 21:58 local time, a McDonnell Douglas 369E registered N7065C was involved in an accident near Manhattan, Kansas, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 March 1996 at 21:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Manhattan, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

39.1904, -96.5909

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas 369E

Registration

N7065C

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96FA099

1 person was seriously injured.

Improper planning/decision by the pilot, which resulted in fuel exhaustion due to an inadequate supply of fuel. A factor relating to the accident was: pressure to meet a work schedule.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before starting a flight to replace power line poles, the helicopter was serviced with 350 pounds of fuel. Normally, six poles were replaced on each flight. As work was being performed on the sixth pole, the helicopter engine lost total power after about 1.6 hours of flight time. The helicopter was damaged during a forced landing. A total of 20 ounces of fuel was drained from the main tank; unusable fuel reserve in that tank was considered to be 2.5 gallons. No mechanical failure/malfunction of the airframe, powerplant, fuel system, or flight controls was discovered during the investigation. Due to unforeseen delays, the company was behind schedule concerning their powerline installation contract.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.