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WPR23LA118

2023-03-02 · Orland, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N234SJ

Make / Model
BELL UH-1B
Year of manufacture
1962 · 61 years old at event
Engine
LYCOMING T-53 SERIES (1150 hp)
Seats / Engines
6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19910916
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A218F5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, during the final run for the aerial application flight, he noticed the engine spooling down. He attempted to land on a nearby road but collided with the terrain, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter or engine that would have precluded normal operation and that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2023_WPR23LA118.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