NTSB CAROL · Event
Event BFO90LA041
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER PREFLIGHT AND IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION. PILOT FATIGUE WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Factual narrative
AFTER RUNNING OUT OF FUEL, THE HELICOPTER WAS AUTOROTATED INTO A WOODED AREA, RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT STATED THAT LACK OF SUFFICIENT REST CONTRIBUTED TO FAILING TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE FUEL TANK COULD NOT BE COMPLETELY REFUELED BECAUSE THE AIRCRAFT WAS PARKED ON A SLOPE DURING REFUELING. HE ALSO STATED THAT FATIGUE MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO HIS DECISION TO TRY TO MAKE IT TO THE AIRPORT EVEN THOUGH HE KNEW HE WAS RUNNING OUT OF FUEL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1990_BFO90LA041.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (pilot fatigue). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- SKYbrary (Eurocontrol) 2023 · SKYbrary article
Pilot Fatigue — SKYbrary Knowledge Base
SKYbrary pilot fatigue review — circadian biology, biomathematical models (SAFE/FAID), commuting impacts, regulatory frameworks (FAR 117 + EU 83/2014).
- NASA NTRS 2023 · Presentation
Nasa Pilot Fatigue Research: Past, Present & Future
Pilot fatigue research at NASA Ames has a long history, initiated by a Congressional request to investigate the magnitude of fatigue, sleep loss and circadian disruption in flight operations, and how …
- FAA CAMI 2022 · CAMI technical report
Pilot Fatigue and Sleep Patterns in Long-Range and Ultra-Long-Range Operations
Field study of crew sleep and alertness during ultra-long-range commercial operations. Combines actigraphy, sleep diaries, and PVT-B reaction tests.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
San Francisco Bar Pilot Fatigue Study
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of fatigue among San Francisco Bar Pilots (Maritime Pilots) and its potential impact on safety, and to make recommendations concerning how the risk…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Conference Proceedings
Pilot Fatigue and Circadian Desynchronosis
Pilot fatigue and circadian desynchronosis, its significance to air transport safety, and research approaches, were examined.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Conference paper
Benefits associated with improving fatigue regulations for cargo pilots
This study investigated the potential business benefits of improving fatigue regulations for cargo pilots in Brazil. The research objectives were to compare fatigue levels between cargo and passenger …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗