Skip to content

CEN25LA143

2025-03-25 · Ruston, Louisiana, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N6006K

Make / Model
HILLER UH-12E
Seats / Engines
4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19830324
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A7CA73

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s improper fuel planning and fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and subsequent impact with terrain during an autorotation.

Factual narrative

The pilot departed on an aerial application flight in the helicopter to continue spraying a field with herbicide. The pilot stated that he became preoccupied with touching up areas, which took longer than expected. While flying across the field to begin the next spray pass, the engine experienced a total loss of power, and he immediately knew that it was due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot performed an autorotation and landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor blades and the tailboom. The pilot stated that after the landing, he checked the helicopter fuel tank, and it was empty. There were no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level
  • — Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management
  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_CEN25LA143.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers