What happened
The aircraft was refueled to its full capacity prior to departing at 1045 local time. Approximately two hours and five minutes into the flight, at 1250 local time, the helicopter experienced a complete loss of engine power. The pilot attempted an autorotative landing, during which the helicopter touched down hard.
The investigation
Postcrash examination of the helicopter by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors revealed that the aircraft contained only about 2 quarts of fuel remaining in its tanks. There was no evidence of precrash or postcrash fuel leakage noted during the inspection. The aircraft has a usable fuel capacity of 26.5 gallons and consumes approximately 13 gallons per hour.
Findings
The flight duration of 2 hours and 5 minutes, combined with the high fuel consumption rate, resulted in fuel exhaustion. Despite the initial refueling to capacity, the available fuel was insufficient for the duration of the flight, leading to the engine failure and subsequent hard landing.