Bell 47G N1170W

Summary

On 20 August 2019 at about 16:30 local time, a Bell 47G registered N1170W, operated by Olathe Spray Service, Inc., was involved in an accident near Montrose, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 August 2019 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Montrose, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

38.0000, -107.0000

Aircraft

Bell 47G

Registration

N1170W

Category

Helicopter

Year built

1965

Engines

1

Operator

Olathe Spray Service, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Olathe → Olathe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN19TA280

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from attitude-induced unporting of the fuel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Before the pilot performed an aerial application, the helicopter was serviced with pesticide, but no fuel was added; fuel had been added before the three previous flights. During one of the aerial application passes, the engine lost power; the pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, and the helicopter’s tailboom and fuselage were substantially damaged. Following the accident, about 3/4 gallon of fuel was recovered from the right fuel tank and 2 1/2 gallons of fuel were recovered from the left fuel tank. There was no evidence of mechanical malfunction of failure that would have precluded normal engine operations. Each spray pass is made at an airspeed of about 85 mph and directly above the crop to achieve optimal product application and spray coverage to the crop. At that speed, the helicopter flies in a nose-low attitude. The fuel delivery port or tube on both tanks is located at the aft, lower end of each tank, and both tanks deliver fuel to the engine simultaneously. It is likely that the limited fuel in the tanks moved away from the fuel ports due to the helicopter's nose-low attitude, resulting in fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.