Helio 295 accident near Manley Hot Sprg, Alaska, April 8, 1994
On April 8, 1994 at about 5:55 pm local time, a Helio 295, registered N42DC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Manley Hot Sprg, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FUEL STARVATION CAUSED BY A BLOCKED FUEL VENT LINE. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE IMPROPER AIRCRAFT PREFLIGHT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 8, 1994 · about 5:55 pm local time
- Place
- Manley Hot Sprg, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Helio 295
- Registration
- N42DC · no longer on the register · serial 1454
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT IN SNOW SHOWERS THE ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE PLANE BY COMPANY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL REVEALED THAT THE FUEL VENT TUBE LOCATED ON TOP OF THE LEFT WING HAD BEEN BENT BACK ALLOWING SNOW TO BECOME IMPACTED THROUGH THE CURVE OF THE LINE. THIS WOULD RESULT IN FUEL STARVATION TO THE ENGINE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,218 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 205 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 22,000 as pilot in command; 3,888 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,999 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 16, 1994; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming GO-480-G1D6 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wright Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 11:55 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 315° at 8 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N42DC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.