20040315010879I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Bell 206B · Venice, LA · March 15, 2004

Date: March 15, 2004 · 06:15 local
Place: Venice, LA
Phase of flight: Final Approach
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: TXEA
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N90280
Reported as: Bell 206B
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 845 total110 in this make and model70 in the last 90 days

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) A precautionary landing was performed after encountering reduced visibility due to fog. Obscuration of the windscreen compounded by the improper use of the defogging system while on the approach to landing phase of operations caused the main rotor blades to strike the top of trees located near the landing zone. Post flight inspection revealed that the underside of the main rotor blades sustained minor damage. Airman was counseled.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING WAS PERFORMED AFTER ENCOUNTERING REDUCED VISIBILITY DUE TO FOG. OBSCURATION OF THE WINDSCREEN COMPOUNDED BY THE IMPROPER USE OF THE DEFOGGING SYSTEM WHILE ON THE APPROACH TO LANDING PHASE OF OPERATIONS CAUSED THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES TO STRIKE THE TOP OF TREES LOCATED NEAR THE LANDING ZONE. POST FLIGHT INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. AIRMAN WAS COUNSELED.