Hughes 369D N50713
24 November 2015 · Carlisle, Washington, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 24 November 2015 at about 17:45 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N50713, operated by Olympic Air Inc, was involved in an accident near Carlisle, Washington, United States. One person was 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.
The record
- Date
- at 17:45
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Carlisle, Washington, United States
- Coordinates
- 47.1478, -124.0719
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D
- Registration
- N50713
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Olympic Air Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Positioning
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Hoquiam → Carlisle
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- WPR16LA032
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the improper calibration of the fuel quantity gauge.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The commercial pilot reported that, while relocating the helicopter to a staging area to refuel, the engine experienced a total loss of power. He initiated an autorotation to a partially-wooded area, where the helicopter touched down and rolled onto its right side. The pilot stated that, before the loss of engine power, he noticed that the fuel quantity indication was not decreasing as he would have expected. Postaccident examination revealed that the fuel quantity gauge indicated more fuel in the fuel tank than the amount that was physically present. This erroneous fuel level indication led the pilot to believe that more fuel was available than what was in the fuel tanks, and subsequently resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Hughes 369 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2015 | Hughes 369D | Marion, South Carolina, United States | Rotor Blade LLC | No injuries | - |
| 18 May 2015 | Hughes 369 | Bocognano, Corse-du-Sud, France, France | Heliwest | Serious injuries | - |
| 4 Aug 2015 | Hughes 369 | Ramatuelle, France, France | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 3 Sep 2015 | Hughes 369HS | Manra Island, Kiribati | Whirlwide Helicopters Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 6 Apr 2015 | Hughes 369D | Cherokee, Alabama, United States | Haverfield International Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 3 Feb 2014 | Hughes 369 | Naples, Florida, United States | Collier Mosquito Control District | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Jan 2015 | Piper PA 12 | Ridgefield, Washington, United States | Nicolai Jane G | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jun 2015 | Beechcraft F35 | Everett, Washington, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 3 Nov 2015 | MD Helicopters 369D | Sedro-Woolley, Washington, United States | Olympic Air Inc | No injuries | - |
| 11 Jun 2015 | Beechcraft RC 45J | Everett, Washington, United States | Historic Flight Foundation | No injuries | - |
| 10 Feb 2015 | Van's RV7-UNDESIGNAT | Belfair, Washington, United States | Brooks D Wolfe | Minor injuries | - |
| 16 Jun 2015 | Rockwell S 2R | Washtucna, Washington, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |