Bell OH-58C accident near Beaumont, TX
On September 16, 2004, a Bell OH-58C (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Beaumont, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 16, 2004
- Place
- Beaumont, TX
- Aircraft
- Bell OH-58C · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 29.951°N, 94.021°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040920X01463
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 15, 2004, approximately 2237 central daylight time, a Bell OH-58C single-engine helicopter, N9273T, was destroyed when it impacted water while maneuvering over Sabine Lake near Beaumont, Texas. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries and the commercial pilot-rated passenger was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. The helicopter departed from the Southeast Texas Regional Airport (BPT) near Beaumont, Texas, approximately 2210, in response to a reported boat fire. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the public use flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. In a written statement, the pilot reported that prior to departing from Southeast Texas Regional Airport, he and his pilot-rated passenger obtained the current automated weather observing system (AWOS) information, and set the altimeter accordingly to a barometric pressure setting of 29.75 inches of Mercury. The pilot flew from the right seat and the passenger sat in the left seat. Upon arrival to the site of the reported boat fire, the pilot and passenger did not observe any fire coming from the lake. They assumed that the vessel might have sunk, so they began to search for survivors or anything that may have come from the vessel. The Coast Guard suggested that they start their search at the north end of Sabine Lake and work toward the Coast Guard vessels. The pilot and passenger complied with their request and started a standard grid search from "the
Probable cause
**This probable cause was modified on 2/22/2016. Please see the public docket for this accident for additional details.** The pilot's failure to maintain a safe altitude, resulting in collision with the water. A factor was the dark night.
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Browse: Texas · Bell aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
