# Incident 19990805027449I: Bell 407, New Iberia, LA, August 5, 1999

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 5, 1999
- Place: New Iberia, LA
- Airport: Acadiana Regional
- Phase of flight: Pwr Off Vert Land/Autorotate
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: A05A
- Location: 30.0378° N, 91.8839° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ACADIANA RGNL (ARA), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0378&lon=-91.8839&mi=10
- Aircraft: N973AA (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C47B
- People aboard: 6
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 3,757 total, 400 in this make and model, 365 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990805027449I

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT WAS HEADING SOUTHBOUND OUT OF NEW IBERIA (ARA), WHEN THE FADEC HORN SOUNDED AND LIGHTS ILLUMINATED. PILOT RETARDED THROTTLE TO 90% NG, FADEC WENT INTO MANUAL MODE AUTOMATICALLY.  PILOT WAS ABLE TO STABILIZE AIRCRAFT AND TURNED BACK TO NEW IBERIA.  ABOUT 2 MILES OUT, A/C SURGED VIOLENTLY AND YAWED. LOW ROTOR LIGHT CAME ON AND THE POWERPLANT WAS MAKING VERY STRANGE NOISES, LIKE IT WAS FLAMING OUT AND TRYING TO RE-LIGHT.  PILOT EXECUTED AN AUTOROTATION TO A CANE FIELD.  ENGINE SEEMED TO BE RUNNING AFTER LANDING.  HE SHUT DOWN AND PILOT AND PASSENGERS DEPARTED THE AIRCRAFT.  SYSTEM TROUBLESHOOTING INDICATED A FAULTY ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU).  UNIT REPLACED AND FUNCTION TESTED.  A/C REPOSITIONED TO OPERATORS BASE.  UPON EVALUATION OF ECU DATA, MFG SUGGESTED ENGINE REPLACEMENT SINCE THE ECU FAILED AND WENT INTO MANUAL MODE, THE ECU DATA WAS UNRELIABLE.

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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