Robinson R44 II N74496

Summary

On 31 July 2012 at about 16:00 local time, a Robinson R44 II registered N74496, operated by Pollux Aviation Ltd, was involved in an accident near Wainwright, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 2012 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wainwright, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

70.6381, -159.9947

Aircraft

Robinson R44 II

Registration

N74496

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Pollux Aviation Ltd

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

External Load

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wainwright → Wainwright

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12CA082

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of ground personnel to ensure the helicopter was serviced with the proper fuel. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to monitor the fueling process.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After landing at the airport, the pilot asked ground personnel to fuel the helicopter while he prepared a sling load for his next flight. The pilot said that while he was weighing the sling load cargo on a nearby scale, the ground crew finished fueling the helicopter. The pilot then signed the fuel delivery manifest for the 25.4 gallons of aviation fuel. Shortly thereafter, the pilot boarded the helicopter and started the engine. He said that after liftoff, he picked up the 775-pound sling load and then departed toward his destination. About 10 to 15 seconds after takeoff, the engine began to run rough and lose power, so the pilot elected to land, but while attempting to set the sling load on the ground, all engine power was lost. The low rotor warning horn sounded, the pilot entered a low-altitude emergency autorotation and attempted to cushion the landing, but the helicopter landed hard. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail rotor drive system. A postaccident examination revealed that the reciprocating engine helicopter had been inadvertently serviced with Jet A turbine fuel. In a written statement, the ground personnel who fueled the helicopter stated that they thought they were fueling the helicopter with aviation gas, but they were using the same trailer that they used to fuel larger (turbine-powered) helicopters.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.