# Accident 19970922027889A: Skrsky S76A, Patterson, LA, September 22, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 22, 1997, 05:30 local time
- Place: Patterson, LA
- Airport: Harry P Williams Memorial Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: ALGA
- Location: 29.6896° N, 91.3005° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6896&lon=-91.3005&mi=10
- Aircraft: N517AL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N517AL-2013-08-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Sikorsky S-76A (registry code 8143006, https://openairdocs.org/model/sikorsky-s-76a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C30 series (registry code 03015, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c30-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SKRSKY S76A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97LA356](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA356) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970922027889A

## Narrative

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

ON DEPARTURE, HIGH HOVER, DISAPPEARE IN FOG, HIT GROUND, OVER FENCE INTO FIELD. (-23) ON SEPTEMBER 22, 1997, AT 0530 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A SIKORSKY S-76-A HELICOPTER, N517AL, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY OFFSHORE LOGISTICS, INC., IMPACTED THE GROUND AFTER TAKEOFF AT HARRY P. WILLIAMS MEMORIAL AIRPORT (PTN). THE PTN AWOS REPORTED 500 SCATTERED AND ONE-HALF MILE VISIBILITY, ADEAQUATE HELICOPTER VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS ON FILE. COMPANY FLIGHT FOLLOWING PROCEDURES HAD NOT BEEN INITIATED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND THE TWO AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT-RATED PILOTS SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT THE OFFSHORE LOGISTICS' FACILITY ON THE AIRPORT AT 0525, SEPTEMBER 22, 1997.

## 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 FTW97LA356](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97LA356), Sep 22, 1997: Sikorsky S-76A (N517AL), Patterson, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: failure of the copilot to maintain a positive rate of climb after takeoff, which led to an inadvertent descent and collision with a crop of sugar cane and the ground. Factors relating to the accident…

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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