Johnston Douglas S SAFARI N70415

Summary

On 1 September 2012 at about 13:00 local time, a Johnston Douglas S SAFARI registered N70415, operated by Ken Smith, was involved in an accident near McVeytown, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 September 2012 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

McVeytown, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.4511, -77.8264

Aircraft

Johnston Douglas S SAFARI

Registration

N70415

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Ken Smith

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McVeytown → McVeytown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA12LA541

1 person died.

The pilot's lack of proficiency and certification, which resulted in his failure to enter an autorotation when the engine lost power. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness who spoke with the pilot before the flight reported that the pilot had checked the fuel before departure and intended to "make a couple of laps" before proceeding to a local airport to purchase more fuel. Another witness observed the helicopter perform two 180-degree turns before it descended and impacted the ground. Examination of the accident site confirmed a vertical impact, and the helicopter damage was consistent with low or minimal rotor speed at the time of impact. Inspection of the fuel system revealed no fuel in the right fuel tank and about 2 pints of fuel in the left fuel tank. No contamination was observed in the fuel on board, and no obstructions were observed in the fuel system. The experimental amateur-built helicopter was constructed from a kit and received its airworthiness certificate in 2003. The pilot purchased the helicopter about 4 months before the accident through the kit manufacturing company, which was brokering the sale of the helicopter for the builder’s estate. The pilot did not hold a pilot certificate and did not register the helicopter with the FAA. Examination of the pilot's logbook revealed that about 2 years before the accident, he had received 3.2 hours of helicopter instruction. Interviews revealed that when the pilot acquired the helicopter, he flew an additional 15 hours with the owner of the helicopter kit manufacturing company (in the accident helicopter and another company helicopter). However, these flights were limited to hover practice. It is likely that while the pilot was maneuvering the helicopter at a low altitude, it experienced a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. At this point, the pilot needed to immediately enter an autorotation. However, given the pilot’s limited flight training and his lack of pilot certification (he would have had to demonstrate an autorotation in order to become a certificated helicopter pilot), he almost certainly was not proficient in performing autorotations. The helicopter’s vertical impact with low rotor rpm is consistent with the pilot failing to make the control inputs necessary to enter an autorotation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.