What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) Aircraft landed into wind on platform irene (5 miles off the coast from vandenberg), then began a hovering right turn to position aircraft to disembark passengers. The tail rotor struck the surface structure of the oil derrick and loss of tail rotor control resulted in a hard landing. Aircraft rolled over and came to rest on its side on the helipad. The helipad had been recently repainted. The circled 'h' was offset approximately 12 inches toward the rig. A hover reference line had been removed during the repaint. Insufficient distance to conduct a turn while stationary over helipad resulted in tail rotor contact with oil derrick structure.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) AIRCRAFT LANDED INTO WIND ON PLATFORM IRENE (5 MILES OFF THE COAST FROM VANDENBERG), THEN BEGAN A HOVERING RIGHT TURN TO POSITION AIRCRAFT TO DISEMBARK PASSENGERS. THE TAIL ROTOR STRUCK THE SURFACE STRUCTURE OF THE OIL DERRICK AND LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR CONTROL RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING. AIRCRAFT ROLLED OVER AND CAME TO REST ON ITS SIDE ON THE HELIPAD. THE HELIPAD HAD BEEN RECENTLY REPAINTED. THE CIRCLED 'H' WAS OFFSET APPROXIMATELY 12 INCHES TOWARD THE RIG. A HOVER REFERENCE LINE HAD BEEN REMOVED DURING THE REPAINT. INSUFFICIENT DISTANCE TO CONDUCT A TURN WHILE STATIONARY OVER HELIPAD RESULTED IN TAIL ROTOR CONTACT WITH OIL DERRICK STRUCTURE.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.