Enstrom 280FX N280AD

Summary

On 19 March 2009 at about 22:45 local time, a Enstrom 280FX registered N280AD was involved in an accident near Wendover, Utah, 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

19 March 2009 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Wendover, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

Wendover Airport (ENV)

Coordinates

40.7372, -113.8928

Aircraft

Enstrom 280FX

Registration

N280AD

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ogden → Wendover

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09LA156

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from an inadequate preflight inspection by both pilots and their failure to ensure that adequate fuel was on board for the flight. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor stated that during the preflight inspection for the cross-country flight, they did not physically check the fuel level, but relied on the fuel gauge, which indicated about 32 gallons (210 pounds) of fuel, of which 2 gallons were unusable. About 2 hours into the flight, the low fuel pressure light came on and the engine began to sputter and miss. The flight instructor took control of the helicopter and began an autorotation, during which the engine quit. The helicopter subsequently contacted the ground and the main rotor blades struck the tail boom sheering the tail rotor shaft. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector performed a post accident inspection of the helicopter. During the inspection, less than 1 gallon of fuel was noted in both fuel tanks. When power was applied, the low fuel pressure warning light illuminated. After 1 gallon of fuel was added to each fuel tank, the low fuel pressure warning light extinguished and the engine was started. According to the pilot the helicopter used 16.6 to 18.5 gallons per hour at an average ground speed of 100 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.