# Accident 20001229033669A: Bell 407, Sabine Pass, TX, December 29, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 29, 2000, 07:28 local time
- Place: Sabine Pass, TX
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: HEEA
- Location: 29.4325° N, 94.5431° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4325&lon=-94.5431&mi=10
- Aircraft: N407MM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N407MM-2001-06-28) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW01FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA043) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001229033669A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AT APPROX. 09:50 AM, ON DEC. 29, 2000, PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC. REPORTED TO THE BATON ROUGE FSDO THAT A BELL-407 HELICOPTER, N407MM, WAS MISSING. THE A/C WAS ON A VFR, 14 CFR 91 REPOSITIONING FLIGHT FROM PHI'S CAMERON BASE, CAMERON, LA. TO GALVESTON, TX. THE A/C DEPARTED THE CAMERON BASE AT 07:13 ON A COMPANY VFR FLIGHT PLAN. THE COMMERCIALLY RATED PILOT WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT ON BOARD THE A/C. THE PILOT MADE A ROUTINE POSITION REPORT SOUTHWEST OF SABINE PASS, TX AT 07:28 AND NO PROBLEMS WERE REPORTED. THERE WAS NO FURTHER CONTACT WITH THE A/C. BOTH PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS AND THE USCG CONDUCTED AN AIR AND SEA SEARCH. LATE IN THE DAY OF DEC. 30, 2000, A "PINGER" AND A SMALL OIL SLICK WERE OBSERVED AT 29.25.572N, 94.32.859W. DUE TO WEATHER AND SEA STATE, A DIVE COULD NOT BE MADE UNTIL JAN. 2, 2001. ON THAT DATE, THE A/C WAS LOCATED AND RECOVERED. THE PILOT, HOWEVER, WAS NOT LOCATED AND IS STILL MISSING. THE A/C WAS DEMOLISHED BY AN APPARENT HIGH-SPEED WATER IMPACT. THE AFT 3/4 OF THE A/C'S TAIL BOOM WAS NOT RECOVERED ON JAN 2, 2001. NO APPARENT SYSTEMS OR A/C MALFUNCTION WAS EVIDENT. ON JAN. 6, 2001, AN ADDITIONAL SECTION OF THE TAIL BOOM WAS DISCOVERED BY BOAT AND            RETURNED TO PHI'S MAIN BASE IN LAFAYETTE, LA. THIS SECTION WAS SEVERED JUST AFT OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER AT A POINT CONSISTENT WITH THE TAIL ROTOR TIP PATH PLANE. TAIL ROTOR/TAIL BOOM CONTACT WAS EVIDENT BY CUT LINES ON THE TAIL BOOM. THE AFT SECTION OF THE BOOM CONSISTING OF THE TAIL ROTOR, TAIL ROTOR GEARBOX, AND VERTICAL FIN HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED.

## 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 FTW01FA043](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW01FA043), Dec 29, 2000: Bell 407 (N407MM), Gilchrist, TX, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of control for reasons undetermined.

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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