# Incident 19971206044239I: Bell 206L1, New York, NY, December 6, 1997

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 6, 1997, 16:00 local time
- Place: New York, NY
- Airport: S Marsh Island
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Pwr On Vertical Ldng/Rtrcrft
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: ALGA
- Location: 40.7143° N, 74.0060° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of New York, NY, within about 10 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7143&lon=-74.0060&mi=10
- Aircraft: N57504 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206L1
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,100 total, 126 in this make and model, 106 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971206044239I

## Narrative

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

NARRATIVE: MR. JOHN E. WARD, HOLDER OF COMMERCIAL PILOT CERTIFICATE NO.429983630, ON DECEMBER 6, 1997 WAS INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT OFFSHORE AT SOUTH MARSH ISLAND BLOCK 22. THIS INCIDENT WAS REPORTED BY TELEPHONE ON DECEMBER 8, 1997, BY AIR LOGISTICS' CHIEF PILOT, CARL BROWN. MR. BROWN STATED THAT A HELICOPTER OWNED AND OPERATED BY AIR LOGISTICS, INC., WAS BEING FLOWN BY MR. WARD WHEN THE AIRCRAFT'S VERTICAL FIN STRUCK THE PLATFORM AT SOUTH MARSH ISLAND BLOCK 22. MR. WARD, WITHOUT A MAINTENANCE NOTIFICATION AND RELEASE, FLEW THE AIRCRAFT TO SOUTH MARSH ISLAND BLOCK 23 AND SUBSEQUENTLY REPORTED THE DAMAGE TO AIR LOGISTICS' MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE TAILBOOM ASSEMBLY PREDICATING REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF THE TAILBOOM AND ALL RELATED COMPONENTS. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AMENDED 02/26/98 FOLLOWS: ON DECEMBER 6, 1997, AT 1600 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A BELL, MODEL 206L1, HELICOPTER, N57504, REGISTERED TO AIR LOGISTICS, INC., COLLIDED WITH A SAFETY RAIL ON LANDING AT SOUTH MARSH ISLAND BLOCK 22, WHILE ON A CFR 135 FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME AND A VFR FLIGHT FOLLOWING PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT HAD MINOR DAMAGE AND THE PILOT IN COMMAND AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED. THE PILOT ALLOWED THE AIRCRFT TO DESCEND BELOW THE PLATFORM HEIGHT AT HIS INTENDED POINT OF LANDING, STRIKING THE PLATFORM SAFETY RAIL. DAMAGE, WHILE CONSIDERED TO BE MINOR, RENDERED THE AIRCRAFT UNAIRWORTHY AND IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY FLOWN TO SOUTH MARSH ISLAND BLOCK 23 BEFORE MAINTENANCE WAS NOTIFIED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM AN OFFSHORE PLATFORM IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON DECEMBER 6, 1997.

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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