# Incident 19951226046599I: Bell 214ST, Morgan City, LA, December 26, 1995

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 26, 1995, 07:45 local time
- Place: Morgan City, LA
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: HEEA
- Location: 29.7103° N, 91.1915° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Morgan City, LA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7103&lon=-91.1915&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8045T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8045T-2015-05-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 214ST (registry code 1182106, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-214st) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: GE CT7 series (registry code 30030, https://openairdocs.org/engine/ge-ct7-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 214ST
- Reported engine: GE CT72A
- People aboard: 20
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 18,540 total, 371 in this make and model, 47 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19951226046599I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: ON DECEMBER 26, 1995, AT 7:42 CST, A BELL 214ST HELICOPTER, OPERATED BY PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC., EXPERIENCED AN INADVERTENT INFLATION OF THE EMERGENCY FLOATS IN LEVEL CRUISE FLIGHT. THE PILOT, MR. JOHN B. SILVA, JR., REPORTED THAT THE EMERGENCY FLOATS INFLATED WHILE IN LEVEL CRUISE FLIGHT, PRECEDED BY A LOUD "POP" SOUND, FOLLOWED BY A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE. THE NOSE OF THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED NOSE DOWN. THE EMERGENCY CHECKLIST WAS STARTED AND ENTERED INTO AUTOROTATION. A PASSENGER INFORMED THE CREW THAT THE EMERGENCY FLOATS HAD DEPLOYED. THE PILOTS ADDED POWER TO THE ENGINES AND MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING ON AN OIL RIG IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. (SMU-130). INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE EMERGENCY FLOATS. THERE WAS NO OTHER DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT OR THE 18 PASSENGERS OR THE 2 MAN CREW. REVIEW OF PILOT INFORMATION BY PERSONNEL FROM THE BATON ROUGE FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE REVEALED THAT BOTH PILOTS WERE PROPERLY CERTIFICATED FOR THE FLIGHT AND A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED WITH PHI IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CARRIER MANUAL. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT PHI'S BASE IN AMELIA, LOUISIANA, ON DECEMBER 26, 1995, AT 7:10 A.M. THE INCIDENT OCCURRED LATER THAT MORNING AT 7:55. PHI MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL FOUND THAT BELL FLOAT VALVE ASSEMBLY, P/N 214-55-95-149 SUFFERED AN INTERNAL FAILURE, RESULTING IN THE INADVERTENT INFLATION OF THE FLOATS.

## Other reports on N8045T (1)

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

- [Incident 19971105043099I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971105043099I), Nov 5, 1997: Bell 214ST (N8045T), St295, LA, Minor damage. Narrative: in cruise flight, the copilot's overhead window departed the aircraft. Airspeed and altitude reduced and flight to fourchon, LA continued with no…

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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