Incident Summary
The pilot reported that the helicopter's fuel supply was exhausted while attempting to land at the destination airport for refueling. The event resulted in an autorotation, a rollover, and substantial damage to the helicopter.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot, an earlier attempt to refuel at a remote landing zone equipped with a fuel truck was unsuccessful because the truck was unable to pump fuel at that time. The pilot and the owner of the operation then boarded the helicopter and decided to fly to the airport, believing there were about 14 gallons of fuel on board. The pilot had planned to land the helicopter en route if the fuel gauge reached the 'yellow' range during the flight.
Approximately 2.5 nautical miles from the airport, the fuel gauge needle was observed to be slightly outside of the yellow range, and the engine subsequently quit. The pilot immediately executed an autorotation. During the landing, one of the helicopter's skids impacted soft terrain, causing a main rotor blade to strike the ground. The helicopter rolled over.
Damage
The helicopter sustained substantial damage as a result of the rollover.