Bell 206B accident near Groom, Texas, October 24, 2017

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The commercial pilot of the helicopter stated that there were 20 gallons of fuel on board when he departed on the aerial application flight. He flew to a 43-acre field and made steep turns while spraying the field. After dispensing the chemical, he made a steep, "hard right turn" en route to the operator's base, which was located about 3/4 mile west of the field. About 40 seconds after making the hard right turn and with the fuel gauge indicating 10 gallons remaining, the helicopter was on approach for landing. While on a right base leg to the landing zone and about 40 ft above ground level with about 35 kts airspeed, the pilot felt the "tail wag," and the engine stopped producing power. He performed an autorotation, but the tail impacted the ground during the landing flare, which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter. During the examination of the helicopter, 2 spoons full of fuel were drained from the airframe fuel filter assembly. When the fuel boost pumps were turned on, they initially sounded as though they were cavitating. With the fuel boost pumps running, 7 gallons of fuel were drained from the fuel tank through the airframe fuel filter assembly. The engine was removed from the airframe and placed on a test cell, where it operated normally. The helicopter flight manual stated that, if installed, the FUEL LOW light would illuminate with about 20 gallons of fuel remaining. It stated that, if this light illuminated, the pilot should, "Land as soon as practical." The flight manual also contained a warning that, "Operation with both fuel boost pumps inoperative is not authorized. Due to possible fuel sloshing in unusual attitudes or out of trim conditions and one or both fuel boost pumps inoperative, the unusable fuel is 10 gallons." It is likely that the engine experienced a total loss of power due to fuel starvation; however, the reason for the fuel starvation was not determined. The pilot decided to operate the helicopter with less than 20 gallons of fuel, and 7 gallons of fuel were found in the helicopter after the accident occurred. The final, steep right turn likely was uncoordinated, and it might have caused the fuel pickup in the tank to become unported, allowing air into the fuel line. However, the pilot reported that the boost pump circuit breakers were in, and they should have been able to deliver fuel to the fuel filter assembly.

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.

Photographs from the investigation 8 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them

Photo 1 – View of helicopter wreckage in a cotton fieldPhoto 2 – View of the broken tailboom in the cotton fieldPhoto 3 – View of helicopter canted on its right sidePhoto 4 – View from the rear of the helicopterPhoto 5 – View of the instrument panel at the accident sitePhoto 6 – View of circuit breakersPhoto 7 – View of circuit breaker panelPhoto 8 – View of fuel filling lines external to the aircraft

The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.

Other NTSB records under N60EA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time