20020907027949I

Incident

FAA incident report · Bell 412 · Amelia, LA · September 7, 2002

Date: September 7, 2002
Place: Amelia, LA
Airport: Lake Palourde Base Heliport
Phase of flight: Final Approach
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: HEEA
Aircraft: N800Y
Reported as: Bell 412
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0

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) External life raft inadvertently deployed in flight while the helicopter was on short final for landing. The inadvertent deployment was caused by the latch mechanism vibrating loose from the airframe. The raft is installed in accordance with STC SRO9343RC. The STC holder for the raft and the responsible FAA certification office is reevaluating the latch mechanism. The operator of this aircraft is the only current user of this raft system

As the FAA filed it

(-23) EXTERNAL LIFE RAFT INADVERTENTLY DEPLOYED IN FLIGHT WHILE THE HELICOPTER WAS ON SHORT FINAL FOR LANDING. THE INADVERTENT DEPLOYMENT WAS CAUSED BY THE LATCH MECHANISM VIBRATING LOOSE FROM THE AIRFRAME. THE RAFT IS INSTALLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH STC SRO9343RC. THE STC HOLDER FOR THE RAFT AND THE RESPONSIBLE FAA CERTIFICATION OFFICE IS REEVALUATING THE LATCH MECHANISM. THE OPERATOR OF THIS AIRCRAFT IS THE ONLY CURRENT USER OF THIS RAFT SYSTEM