Schweizer 300C N299RJ

Summary

On 14 November 2010 at about 23:00 local time, a Schweizer 300C registered N299RJ, operated by Mountain One Helicopters, was involved in an accident near Broomfield, Colorado, 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

14 November 2010 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Broomfield, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.9458, -105.0244

Aircraft

Schweizer 300C

Registration

N299RJ

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Mountain One Helicopters

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Erie → Erie

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11CA068

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper execution of an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, while returning back to his home airport the helicopter's engine began to sputter. He elected to perform a precautionary landing and, while descending to an unoccupied football field, the engine lost total power. During touchdown, the helicopter landed hard and spun counterclockwise before coming to rest in the upright position, substantially damaging the tailboom. An on-scene examination of the helicopter revealed that both fuel tanks were empty and that no fuel was observed underneath the wreckage or on the field. After adding fuel, the engine the helicopter operator was able to run the engine at various power settings with no anomalies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.