Mbb BO-105S accident near Lena, LA
On March 14, 1997, a Mbb BO-105S (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Lena, LA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 14, 1997
- Place
- Lena, LA
- Aircraft
- Mbb BO-105S · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.460°N, 92.771°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07518
Official records · FTW97FA121
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 14, 1997, approximately 0145 central standard time, a MBB BO-105S helicopter, N7161J, registered to Deutsche Financial Services Holding Corporation, and operated by Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI), under contract to Acadian Air Med Services as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight, was destroyed following a loss of control near Lena, Louisiana. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company VFR flight plan was filed for the dark night cross country flight. The instrument rated commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the medical crewmember was seriously injured. The dark early morning flight originated from Shreveport, Louisiana, at 0102, about 42 minutes prior to the accident, and was en route to Lafayette, Louisiana, via Alexandria, Louisiana. The medical crewmember reported the following information in an interview conducted by the investigator-in-charge. He was handling flight following with company dispatch while the pilot was talking with ATC. They had descended to 500 feet MSL due to weather, and were following Interstate 49 south over the northbound lanes. The pilot had slowed the helicopter to 70 knots and was keeping pace with the traffic. He remembered "feeling a shudder, like the shudder as the helicopter decelerates through effective translational lift." He heard the pilot say an expletive and felt the helicopter begin to turn left. He saw sparks overhead and felt plexi glass hit him. Subsequently, the helicopter impacted the ground. During this sequence he lost visual orientation of the helicopter's position in
Probable cause
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, and his subsequent loss of aircraft control due to spatial disorientation. Factors were the pilot not following company procedures and directives, the low ceiling, and the dark night light condition.
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Browse: Louisiana
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
