B206 accident in Lagos 28/8/2020
Impossible to know what the pilot was thinking...reporting one hour endurance just before running the tank dry. Maybe the engine going quiet the moment it did came as a surprise. I mean, if you know you're about to run out of gas, having the ability to safely land a helicopter anywhere it would fit would be a very appealing option. Rather than running it dry and ending up somewhere where it doesn't fit. Not much thinking going on I suspect, especially in the planning before the flight. No excuse for departing with less than a full tank of gas.
Impossible to know what the pilot was thinking...reporting one hour endurance just before running the tank dry. Maybe the engine going quiet the moment it did came as a surprise. I mean, if you know you're about to run out of gas, having the ability to safely land a helicopter anywhere it would fit would be a very appealing option. Rather than running it dry and ending up somewhere where it doesn't fit. Not much thinking going on I suspect, especially in the planning before the flight. No excuse for departing with less than a full tank of gas.
I disagree, guys. He knew he was about out of fuel - he just didn't want to admit it to ATC. Had it kept running and he went in and landed, nobody would have been the wiser. And nobody would have cared.
Look, he had, an "engineer" (what we in the U.S. call an aircraft mechanic) onboard, probably in the left-front seat. He was also carrying a "fitter mechanic," whatever that is. The flight was listed as a positioning flight, so we can assume that those two were not revenue passengers, but rather fellow employees..
The fuel gauge in a 206 is pretty hard to miss. It's right in front of the left-seat passenger, who I'm certain was pointing at it, going, "Uhhhh, Skipper, are we gonna make this?". It is simply inconceivable to me that the pilot could be unaware of his fuel state. But like I said, pilots are optimists, and this one evidently thought he could get it on the ground before it quit. I mean, look how close they got! Same deal with that EMS pilot who ran his Astar out of fuel on approach to the airport in Mosby, Missouri, US in 2011. There's a strong psychological thing..."I'll make it...come on, baby...keep running..." And then it doesn't.
We've all had that lump-in-the-throat, "This-is-gonna-be-close" feeling when low on fuel. If you have not experienced it, you haven't been flying for very long. A FAR Part-135 operator I once worked for allowed us to fly down to 20-minutes of fuel as long as we had a refueling point "in the vicinity." But I was never comfortable with that. Twenty minutes of fuel does not look like much on a 206B fuel gauge. It's a little less than 10 gallons.
The pilot of 5N-BQW gambled...and lost, plain and simple.
Look, he had, an "engineer" (what we in the U.S. call an aircraft mechanic) onboard, probably in the left-front seat. He was also carrying a "fitter mechanic," whatever that is. The flight was listed as a positioning flight, so we can assume that those two were not revenue passengers, but rather fellow employees..
The fuel gauge in a 206 is pretty hard to miss. It's right in front of the left-seat passenger, who I'm certain was pointing at it, going, "Uhhhh, Skipper, are we gonna make this?". It is simply inconceivable to me that the pilot could be unaware of his fuel state. But like I said, pilots are optimists, and this one evidently thought he could get it on the ground before it quit. I mean, look how close they got! Same deal with that EMS pilot who ran his Astar out of fuel on approach to the airport in Mosby, Missouri, US in 2011. There's a strong psychological thing..."I'll make it...come on, baby...keep running..." And then it doesn't.
We've all had that lump-in-the-throat, "This-is-gonna-be-close" feeling when low on fuel. If you have not experienced it, you haven't been flying for very long. A FAR Part-135 operator I once worked for allowed us to fly down to 20-minutes of fuel as long as we had a refueling point "in the vicinity." But I was never comfortable with that. Twenty minutes of fuel does not look like much on a 206B fuel gauge. It's a little less than 10 gallons.
The pilot of 5N-BQW gambled...and lost, plain and simple.
Whether he had the fuel topped off after doing the gnd run and Mx flt at NAF we cannot say for certain as it is not yet clear, however, he could have stopped in Osubi and taken on fuel. A little under half way but a quick gander at the GS vs fuel burn and plan accordingly.
He had options but chose not to use them.
He had options but chose not to use them.
It is simply inconceivable to me that the pilot could be unaware of his fuel state. But like I said, pilots are optimists, and this one evidently thought he could get it on the ground before it quit. I mean, look how close they got! Same deal with that EMS pilot who ran his Astar out of fuel on approach to the airport in Mosby, Missouri, US in 2011. There's a strong psychological thing..."I'll make it...come on, baby...keep running..." And then it doesn't.
We've all had that lump-in-the-throat, "This-is-gonna-be-close" feeling when low on fuel. If you have not experienced it, you haven't been flying for very long.
We've all had that lump-in-the-throat, "This-is-gonna-be-close" feeling when low on fuel. If you have not experienced it, you haven't been flying for very long.
