NTSB CAROL · Event
Event LAX91LA248
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
FUEL EXHAUSTION. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE FAILURE OF THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND TO ENSURE THAT SUFFICIENT FUEL WAS AVAILABLE FOR THE FLIGHT.
Factual narrative
THE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING A SIGHTSEEING HELICOPTER TOUR AND NOTICED A FUEL PUMP CAUTION LIGHT. HE THEN NOTICED THAT THE FUEL LEVEL WAS LOW BUT DECIDED THAT SUFFICIENT FUEL WAS AVAILABLE TO COMPLETE A LANDING APPROACH TO THE DEPARTURE HELIPAD. AT ABOUT 50 FEET A.G.L. AND ABOUT 40 KNOTS OF AIRSPEED, THE ENGINE QUIT. DURING THE AUTOROTATION, THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED A HARD LANDING, COLLAPSING THE LANDING GEAR AND THEN IMPACTING AN AIRPORT PERIMETER FENCE. ALL AVAILABLE FUEL WAS EXHAUSTED. THE HELICOPTER WAS REFUELED PRIOR TO THE THIRD DEPARTURE, OF A TOTAL OF FIVE FLIGHTS. FOLLOWING A LUNCH BREAK, THE PILOT DEPARTED ON THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. COMPANY MANIFEST SHEETS FOR EACH FLIGHT LIST A STANDARD FUEL LOAD OF 40 OR 65 GALLONS. IN THIS ACCIDENT, THE MANIFEST SHEETS DID NOT ACCURATELY REFLECT THE ACTUAL QUANTITY OF FUEL ON BOARD FOR EACH FLIGHT. THE PILOT DID NOT VISUALLY VERIFY THE ACTUAL FUEL AMOUNT BEFORE THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1991_LAX91LA248.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
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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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