20011014032119I

Incident

FAA incident report · Bell 407 · Intracoastalcit, LA · October 14, 2001

Date: October 14, 2001
Place: Intracoastalcit, LA
Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: HEEA
Aircraft: N4999
Reported as: Bell 407

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) The aircraft developed a severe vibration while in cruise flight over the gulf of Mexico. The pilot immediately landed the aircraft on the nearest offshore platform. Subsequent examination of the aircraft revealed that the forward bearing on the no. 2 tail rotor/oil cooler blower driveshaft failed. The bearing had only accumulated 145 hours of operation since installed new on the aircraft. The bearing was sent to Bell helicopter in hurst, Texas for engineering evaluation.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE AIRCRAFT DEVELOPED A SEVERE VIBRATION WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY LANDED THE AIRCRAFT ON THE NEAREST OFFSHORE PLATFORM. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT THE FORWARD BEARING ON THE NO. 2 TAIL ROTOR/OIL COOLER BLOWER DRIVESHAFT FAILED. THE BEARING HAD ONLY ACCUMULATED 145 HOURS OF OPERATION SINCE INSTALLED NEW ON THE AIRCRAFT. THE BEARING WAS SENT TO BELL HELICOPTER IN HURST, TEXAS FOR ENGINEERING EVALUATION.