# Accident 19970304005919A: Bell 206L1, Galveston, TX, March 4, 1997 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 4, 1997, 12:15 local time - Place: Galveston, TX - Airport: Scholes Field Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Scud Running - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: ALGA - Location: 29.3002° N, 94.7893° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.3002&lon=-94.7893&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5829D, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5829D-2002-03-18) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Bell Helicopter Textron 206L-1 (registry code 1182107, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-helicopter-textron-206l-1) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELL 206L1 - Reported engine: ALLSN 250C28B - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 11,593 total, 2,409 in this make and model, 74 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA114](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA114) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970304005919A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ENCOUNTERED BROWN OUT OVER GULF DUE WEATHER. MADE SLOW 180 TURN. SETTLED WITH POWER.LOST TAIL EFFECT.IMPACTED WATER (-23) THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT RATED PILOT IN COMMAND STATED THEY DEPARTED AN UNMANNED OFFSHORE PLATFORM APPROXIMATELY 11 MILES OFFSHORE AT APPROXIMATELY NOON O 03/04/97. HE DID NOT HAVE COMMUNICATION WITH ANYONE SO HE COULD NOT GET WEATHER INFORMATION. HIS JUDGEMENT WAS THAT THE WEATHER WAS AT LEAST THE COMPANY REQUIRED MINIMUM. ONCE AIRBORNE, HE WAS ABLE TO CONTACT THE AIR LOGISTICS BASE AT GALVESTON, TEXAS. THEY REPORTED THAT GALVESTON WAS FOGGED IN. THE PILOT STATED HE THOUGHT HE HAD ENOUGH CEILING AND VISIBILITY TO MAKE IT TO SHORE SO HE HEADED DIRECTLY TO THE SHORELINE. HE INTENDED TO FOLLOW THE SHORELINE TO GALVESTON AND GET A SPECIAL VFR CLEARANCE TO LAND AT GALVESTON OR WORST CASE HE COULD LAND ON THE BEACH AND WAIT FOR THE WEATHER TO IMPROVE. THEY FLEW OUT FROM UNDER AN OVERCAST INTO AN AREA WHERE THE SUN WAS SHINING THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND HE BEGAN TO LOSE VISUAL REFERENCE. HE STATED HE REDUCED POWER TO SLOW DOWN, THEN BEGAN A RIGHT HAND TURN WITH THE INTENT TO RETURN TO THE PLATFORM. HE STATED HE FELT THE AIRCRAFT SHUDDER AND REALIZED HE WAS GETTING TOO SLOW SO HE ADDED POWER AND THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO SPIN TO THE RIGHT. HE REDUCED POWER TO STOP THE SPIN BUT THE SPIN DID NOT STOP. THE AIRCRAFT KEPT DESCENDING TOWARD THE WATER SO THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO DEPLOY THE FLOATS AND LAND ON THE WATER. HE ALMOST GOT THE SPIN STOPPED AND THOUGHT HE WAS ABOUT TO ACHIEVE A STABLE HOVER JUST ABOVE THE WATER. HE WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN DEPLOYING THE FLOATS AND THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO SPIN RIGHT AGAIN AND THEN ROLLED AND IMPACTED THE WATER. THE PILOT'S DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT INDICATES SETTLING WITH POWER ACCOMPANIED BY LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR EFFECTIVENESS. THE PILOT REPORTED HE ATTEMPTED TO DIVE DOWN AND ACTIVATE THE FLOATS ON THE AIRCRAFT AFTER IT SANK BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. A PASSENGER, WHO WAS A STRONG SWIMMER AND A DIVER, DIVED DOWN AND RETRIEVED THE LIFE RAFT FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THEY ALL HAD THEIR LIFE VESTS AND THEY INFLATED THE RAFT AND NAVIGATED THE TWO OR THREE MILES TO SHORE BY PULLING IN THE SEA ANCHOR AND ALLOWING THE SOUTH WIND TO DRIFT THEM TO THE BEACH. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW97LA114](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA114), Mar 4, 1997: Bell 206L-1 (N5829D), Jamaica Beach, TX, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's encounter with instrument meteorological conditions, and his subsequent loss of aircraft control due to the loss of visual cues to detect his height above the water. Factors were the low… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.