# Incident 19950504018629I: Bell 412, Sabine, TX, May 4, 1995

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 4, 1995, 05:41 local time
- Place: Sabine, TX
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: HEEA
- Location: 29.7199° N, 93.8716° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Sabine, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7199&lon=-93.8716&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3893N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3893N-2011-09-10) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 412 (registry code 1182202, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-412) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3 series (registry code 52103, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6t-3-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 412
- Reported engine: PWA PT6T3B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 10,232 total, 3,146 in this make and model, 183 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950504018629I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON MAY 4, 1995, AT 5:41 AM, BELL HELICOPTER, MODEL 412, N3893N, OPERATED BY PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC. (PHI), WAS EN ROUTE TO AN OFFSHORE PLATFORM IN THE GULF OF MEXICO, EAST CAMERON BLOCK 195, WHEN THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND HEARD A MUFFLED POP FOLLOWED BY A VIBRATION TO THE AIRCRAFT AND ITS CONTROLS. WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT, THE PILOT RETURNED TO THE PHI BASE IN SABINE, TEXAS, WHERE THE FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED AT 5:36 THAT MORNING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES AND NO FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT. THE FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF VISUAL FLIGHT RULES. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT AFTER THE FLIGHT BY PHI MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL REVEALED THAT THE STAINLESS STEEL VENT FITTING ON THE NO.2 ENGINE EXHAUST EJECTOR, BELL PART NO. 209-062-534-003, CAME LOOSE DURING FLIGHT CAUSING DAMAGE TO TWO OF THE FOUR MAIN ROTOR BLADES AND THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES. PHI SENT THE TAIL ROTOR BLADES TO A METALLURGICAL TESTING LABORATORY WHICH CONFIRMED THE FACT THAT THE MATERIAL WAS, IN FACT, STAINLESS STEEL.

## Other reports on N3893N (2)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19950517028799I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950517028799I), May 17, 1995: Bell 412 (N3893N), Sabine, TX. Pulling pitch to lift to hover. Needles split. Aborted. Replaced governor on NR2 engine.
- [Incident 19941125047769I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19941125047769I), Nov 25, 1994: Bell 412 (N3893N), Lafayette, LA. During hover for takeoff lost NR1 engine max power 85 percent. N1 increasing. Shutdown. Governor fuel control.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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