Bell 407 accident near Gilchrist, TX

On December 29, 2000, a Bell 407 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Gilchrist, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

December 29, 2000

Place

Gilchrist, TX

Aircraft

Bell 407 · Helicopter

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

29.433°N, 94.543°W

NTSB ID

20010105X00031

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 29, 2000, at approximately 0730 central standard time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N407MM, registered to The Fifth Third Leasing Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, and operated by Petroleum Helicopters Incorporated (PHI), of Lafayette, Louisiana, was destroyed when it impacted offshore waters in an uncontrolled descent in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 6 miles south of Gilchrist, Texas. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 repositioning flight. The flight departed Cameron, Louisiana, at 0713, and was en route to Galveston, Texas, with an estimated time of arrival (ETA) of 0750 . According to the operator's refueling logs, the aircraft was fueled to capacity (863 pounds) with Jet-A fuel prior to departing Cameron. The operator's daily communications log and audio tape revealed that the pilot made a routine position report at 0728 on the PHI en route frequency. The pilot reported that he was at 29 degrees, 38 minutes North latitude, and 93 degrees, 57 minutes West longitude. This was the last known contact with the helicopter. At 0751, repeated attempts to contact N407MM by the PHI Sabine Communications Center were made, but to no avail. At 0810, N407MM was reported overdue and the company search plan was activated. For the remainder of the day, search helicopters flew the presumed flight path of N407MM and the adjacent offshore areas with no sightings of the helicopter, pilot, or debris. T

Probable cause

The loss of control for reasons undetermined.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.