Bell 206L-4 accident near Eugene Isld 188, USA
On March 23, 2002, a Bell 206L-4 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Eugene Isld 188, USA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 23, 2002
- Place
- Eugene Isld 188, USA
- Aircraft
- Bell 206L-4 · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 28.753°N, 91.406°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020329X00422
Official records · FTW02FA099
- 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 23, 2002, approximately 0757 central standard time, a Bell 206L-4 helicopter, N7077B was destroyed when it impacted an offshore oil rig and the water following a loss of control during takeoff from Eugene Island 188-P helideck, located in the Gulf of Mexico. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (PHI), of Lafayette, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the helicopter, was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed and activated for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight. At the time of the accident, the pilot was repositioning the helicopter to make room to allow another helicopter to land and refuel. The pilot of the landing helicopter reported that as the accident helicopter began to takeoff to the northeast, its nose rose "moderately" from the platform to an approximate 10-20 degrees nose high attitude, with the heels of the skids remaining on the platform. The helicopter pivoted right 15-25 degrees and became airborne to approximately 1-2 feet above the platform. The helicopter began to drift left while its nose rose to an approximate 30-40 degree nose-high attitude. The pitch of the helicopter continued to increase to a nose high attitude of approximately 70-80 degrees as it drifted to the north side of the platform. The helicopter's skids appeared to vertically touchdown and come to rest on the platform's north side safety fence. After hesitating momentarily, the helicopter began to slide
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the pilot's inadequate preflight which resulted in his failure to remove the left front tie down.
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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.
