# Accident 19990205001139A: Bell 206B3, Sabine Pass, TX, February 5, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 5, 1999, 18:50 local time
- Place: Sabine Pass, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Final Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: VBVA
- Location: 29.7309° N, 93.8902° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7309&lon=-93.8902&mi=10
- Aircraft: N907CA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N907CA-2017-05-15) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 206B (registry code 1181511, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20 series (registry code 03020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 206B3
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,455 total, 650 in this make and model, 168 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA076) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990205001139A

## Narrative

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

(TTY) PILOT BECAME LOST IN THE FOG, AND THE ACFT CRASHED INTO THE EAST BAY. OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (-23) AIRCRAFT FLEW INTO FOG, PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED AND IMPACTED WATER. (.4) THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED HELICOPTER PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE HELICOPTER ON FINAL APPROACH AFTER INADVERTENTLY ENTERING A FOG BANK AT NIGHT.  THE PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED, AND THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED THE WATER NEAR SABINE PASS, TEXAS.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE CALLED A COWORKER LOCATED IN ANGLETON AND WAS TOLD THE 'WEATHER WAS FLYABLE.'  THE PILOT FLEW THE HELICOPTER FROM SABINE PASS, TEXAS, TO ANGLETON, WHERE IT UNDERWENT 1.5 HOURS OF ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WORK.  THE PILOT DID NOT GET A WEATHER BRIEFING PRIOR TO THE RETURN FLIGHT TO SABINE PASS.

## 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 FTW99LA076](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA076), Feb 6, 1999: Bell 206-B3 (N907CA), Sabine Pass, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent spatial disorientation. Factors were the dark night conditions, the fog, and the pilot's failure to obtain a…

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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