NTSB CAROL · Event
Event FTW92LA226
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ROTOR RPM DURING AUTOROTATIVE LANDING. FACTORS WERE FUEL EXHAUSTION, THE PILOT'S IMPROPER FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS, AND THE PILOT NOT REFUELING THE HELICOPTER.
Factual narrative
THE PILOT HAD FLOWN THE HELICOPTER ON THE POWER LINE AERIAL OBSERVATION FLIGHT FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 HOURS AND 8 MINUTES WHEN A POWER LOSS OCCURRED. HE INITIATED AN AUTOROTATION TO AN OPEN FIELD. DURING THE FLARE, HE FAILED TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ROTOR RPM AND THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES SEVERED THE TAILBOOM. THE HELICOPTER LANDED HARD. THE OWNER OF THE HELICOPTER DRAINED A SMALL AMOUNT OF FUEL FROM THE TANKS AND SAID THAT HE WAS CERTAIN THAT LACK OF FUEL CAUSED THE FORCED LANDING. THE PILOT PERFORMED A CALCULATED FUEL CONSUMPTION CHECK TWO DAYS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT WHICH HE SAID SHOWED A FUEL BURN RATE OF 13.7 GALLONS PER HOUR OR 3 HOURS AND 47 MINUTES OF FLIGHT TIME. HE USED A STOP WATCH IN THE COCKPIT TO ACCOUNT FOR FLIGHT TIME. THE MANUFACTURER STATES THE FUEL SYSTEM HOLDS 47.5 GALLONS OF USABLE FUEL, THE ENGINE'S FUEL BURN RATE IS 19 GALLONS PER HOUR AT CRUISE, AND LISTS THE MAXIMUM CRUISE TIME AS 3 HOURS AND 18 MINUTES WITH THE ENGINE LEANED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1992_FTW92LA226.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
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Related research
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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 …
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