# Incident 20061023021629I: Bell 407, Vermillion Bay, October 23, 2006

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 23, 2006, 16:45 local time
- Place: Vermillion Bay
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: YTRA
- Aircraft: N167RL, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N167RL-2023-11-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bell 407 (registry code 1182206, https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-407) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C47 series (registry code 03029, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c47-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELL 407
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C47B
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,485 total, 349 in this make and model
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20061023021629I

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT DEPARTED VER 267 ENROUTE TO VER 78, CHIP DETECTOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED, ENGINE STARTED MAKING METAL SOUND, AND AIRCRAFT STARTED LOSING ROTOR RPM. ONCE THE RPM WAS STABILIZED AT APPROXIMATELY 100 PERCENT PILOT DEPRESSED THE FADEC AUTO/MAN BUTTON TO MUTE THE FADAC FAIL HORN. APPROXIMATELY 5-10 SECONDS AFTER THE FADAC FAILED, PILOT PERCEIVED THE AIRCRAFT TO SHUDDER OR SHIMMY IN THE YAW AXIS, AND FELT THE AIRCRAFT SINK. ROTOR RPM BEGAN TO DECAY AT A VERY RAPID RATE. PILOT IMMEDIATELY ENTERED AUTOROTATION WITH FULL DOWN COLLECTIVE AND CALLED "MAYDAY" TO FLIGHT FOLLOWING. PILOT'S ALTITUDE AT THIS POINT WAS 4-500 FEET. PILOT ARMED THE FLOATS AND PERFORMED AN AUTOROTATION LANDING TO THE WATER WITHOUT DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT OR PASSENGERS.

## Other reports on N167RL (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 20220114001679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220114001679A), Jan 14, 2022: Bell 407 (N167RL), Houma, LA, Destroyed, 2 fatal. On January 14, 2022, at approximately 7:54 am local time, a Bell 407 helicopter, with n registration N167RL departed patterson, LA (ptn) operating under part…

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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