Amateur-built Load Runner 2000 accident near Hammonton, New Jersey, June 19, 2005
On June 19, 2005 at about 11:45 am local time, a amateur-built Load Runner 2000 (helicopter), registered N200LR, was destroyed in an accident near Hammonton, New Jersey. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. A factor was the wooded area, into which, the pilot had to autorotate.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 19, 2005 · about 11:45 am local time
- Place
- Hammonton, New Jersey · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Load Runner 2000
- Registration
- N200LR · no longer on the register · serial 001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The helicopter was proceeding to a nearby airport for fuel, but didn't arrive, and the wreckage was located 2 days later in a wooded area. On-scene examination by FAA inspectors revealed the wreckage to be "mostly intact and contained within the immediate crash scene." Nearby treetops were sheared, and the main rotor blades were fractured into three, approximately 5-foot sections. The helicopter had come to rest on its left side, and there was an impact mark on an 18-inch diameter tree, about 55 inches off the ground, near the helicopter's nose. "The scene had no strong odor of jet fuel," and there was no fuel in the fuel tank, and no fuel in the fuel filter or fuel lines, but some fuel and dirt in the fuel filter bowl.
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: private
- Ratings: rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 300 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 279 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, June 1, 2005; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 259-C18 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Elmer NJ at 11:20 am
- Destination: N81 Hammonton NJ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 am from ACY, 18 miles away
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.
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.