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LAX91LA193

1991-05-06 · Yuma, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport YUM

N304JD has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (HPH LTD GLASFLUGEL 304CZ, built 2000), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND TO PERFORM FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS WHICH RESULTED IN A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION.

Factual narrative

A BELL 47G3B1 LOST POWER AND COLLIDED WITH TREES IN AN ORCHARD. THE HELICOPTER HAD COMPLETED AERIAL SPRAYING OF 60 ACRES OF CITRUS TREES. AT THE END LAST PASS THE ENGINE QUIT AT TREE TOP LEVEL. THE PILOT AUTOROTATED THE HELICOPTER INTO THE TREES. THE DURATION OF THE FLIGHT WAS ABOUT ONE HOUR AND 45 MINUTES. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THE HELICOPTER CONTAINED 25 GALLONS OF FUEL AT THE LAST TAKEOFF. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, THE HELICOPTER FUEL SYSTEM WAS EXAMINED BY THE OPERATOR. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT LESS THAN ONE GALLON OF FUEL WAS DRAINED FROM THE ENTIRE FUEL SYSTEM. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE HELICOPTER BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_LAX91LA193.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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