Bell 206L1 accident near Venice, LA

On December 29, 2007, a Bell 206L1 (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Venice, LA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

December 29, 2007

Place

Venice, LA

Aircraft

Bell 206L1 · Helicopter

Injuries

1 fatal, 1 serious, 2 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

28.958°N, 89.259°W

NTSB ID

20071231X02014

Official records · DFW08FA053

• 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 December 29, 2007, at 1535 central standard time, a Bell 206L1, N211EL, operated by Air Logistics LLC., impacted water during an approach to the offshore platform South Pass 38 in the Gulf of Mexico. One passenger was fatally injured, the commercial pilot sustained serious injuries, and two other passengers received minor injuries. The flight originated from offshore platform Chandeleur 63 at 1502 and was destined for South Pass 38, both in the Gulf of Mexico. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed for the Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air taxi. Interviews conducted with the pilot revealed that while en route to South Pass 38, weather was estimated to be approximately 500 feet and 5 miles visibility. When the pilot approached the platform, weather degraded to approximately 300 feet and 1 statute mile visibility. The pilot descended and elected to continue an approach to South Pass 38 despite violating company designated weather minimums of 500 feet and 3 miles visibility. At approximately 1 mile from the platform, the pilot maneuvered the helicopter "to the right and left" during the approach in an attempt to slow the helicopter. The pilot planned to circle to right of the platform and land into the wind. With a prevailing tail wind, the pilot slowed the helicopter through 20 to 25 knots and began descending. The pilot stated that he could not sense how fast the helicopter was descending and began feeling vibrations through the controls. Forward cyclic was applied and the pilot pulled the

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to continue to the destination landing platform in weather conditions below the company’s weather minimums and his failure to maintain aircraft control during the approach. Contributing to the passenger fatality and the severity of the occupant injuries were the lack of a passenger briefing on how to deploy the liferaft, which was required by the company but not by the Federal

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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.