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ATL85LA183

1985-06-07 · AIKEN, South Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport AIK

Current FAA registration · N9146F

Make / Model
HUGHES 369HS
Year of manufacture
1973 · 12 years old at event
Engine
ALLISON 250 SER 317HP (317 hp)
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19731011
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ACA8B7

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

DURING A LANDING, THE ENG LOST POWER & THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN HARD. THE PLT STATED THAT PRIOR TO THE 15 MIN FLT, THE FUEL GAGE WAS INDICATING 125 LBS OF FUEL & AT THE ACCIDENT SITE IT INDICATED 90 LBS OF FUEL. A POST CRASH INSPECTION OF THE FUEL SYSTEM REVEALED THAT 3 SUPPORT BRACKETS WERE NOT INSTALLED IN THE FUEL CELL & ONLY A TRACE OF FUEL WAS REMAINING. THE ABSENCE OF THE BRACKETS PERMITTED THE FUEL CELL TO COLLAPSE AS FUEL WAS CONSUMED & RESULTED IN ERRONEOUS FUEL GAGE READINGS. THE FUEL LOW CAUTION INDICATOR WAS ALSO FOUND TO BE INOPERATIVE DUE TO A CANNON PLUG THAT WAS IMPROPERLY WIRED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_ATL85LA183.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

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