NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN11CA068
Registry · N299RJ
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
RANS RANS S-18
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A31869
Registrant of record
THOMAS ROBERT J
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper execution of an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
While returning back to his home field, the single-engine helicopter's engine began sputtering. The private pilot began looking for an open area to perform a precautionary landing. While descending for an unoccupied football field, the engine quit. The pilot continued the autorotation to the field. During the landing, the helicopter landed hard and spun counterclockwise before coming to rest in the upright position. Substantial damage was sustained to the tailboom. During an on-scene examination of the helicopter, the fuel tanks were both found empty. No fuel was found underneath the wreckage or on the field. After adding fuel to the engine the helicopter operator was able to run the engine at various engine settings with no anomalies. In addition, the fuel low light passed functional testing. According to the pilot, while returning back to his home airport the helicopter's engine began to sputter. He elected to perform a precautionary landing and, while descending to an unoccupied football field, the engine lost total power. During touchdown, the helicopter landed hard and spun counterclockwise before coming to rest in the upright position, substantially damaging the tailboom. An on-scene examination of the helicopter revealed that both fuel tanks were empty and that no fuel was observed underneath the wreckage or on the field. After adding fuel, the engine the helicopter operator was able to run the engine at various power settings with no anomalies. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained - C
- F Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - F
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- F Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - F
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_CEN11CA068.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 (fuel exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor
Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract
U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other
Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗