# Accident 20090104000369A: Skrsky S76C, Morgan City, LA, January 4, 2009

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 4, 2009, 14:09 local time
- Place: Morgan City, LA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: HEEA
- Location: 29.7294° N, 91.1304° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7294&lon=-91.1304&mi=10
- Aircraft: N748P, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N748P-2010-01-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Sikorsky S-76C (registry code 8143008, https://openairdocs.org/model/sikorsky-s-76c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SKRSKY S76C
- Reported engine: TMECA ARRIEL2S2
- People aboard: 8
- Fatal injuries: 8
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 15,366 total, 5,415 in this make and model, 256 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN09MA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09MA117) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090104000369A

## Narrative

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

ON JANUARY 4, 2008, AT 2:09 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A SIKORSKY S-76C++ HELICOPTER, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY PHI, INC., AS A PART 135 AIR TAXI FLIGHT, CRASHED INTO SWAMPY TERRAIN JUST NORTH OF THE GULF OF MEXICO COASTLINE NEAR MORGAN CITY, LOUISIANA.  BOTH PILOTS AND SIX OF THE SEVEN PASSENGERS ON BOARD WERE KILLED.  ONE PERSON WAS CRITICALLY INJURED.  THE HELICOPTER DEPARTED A PHI BASE IN AMELIA, LOUISIANA, EN ROUTE TO OIL PLATFORM S. TIMBALAER 301 TO TRANSPORT OIL RIG WORKERS FROM TWO DIFFERENT OIL EXPLORATION COMPANIES. THE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE REPORTED AS DAY VISUAL FLIGHT RULE (VFR) CONDITIONS, WITH SCATTERED CLOUDS AT 1,000 FEET AND 10 MILES OF VISIBILITY.  ACCORDING TO REPRESENTATIVES OF PHI, THE FLIGHT WAS BEING TRACKED VIA A PHI SATELLITE SYSTEM.  IT DEPARTED FROM AMELIA AT 2:02 PM.  THE TRACK SUDDENLY ENDED SEVEN MINUTES AFTER DEPARTURE AT 2:09 PM.  THERE WERE NO REPORTS OF ANY PROBLEMS FROM THE FLIGHT CREW.  A SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATION WAS IMMEDIATELY INITIATED BY THE U. S. COAST GUARD, AND THE HELICOPTER WRECKAGE WAS FOUND SHORTLY THEREAFTER NEAR THE LOCATION OF THE LOSS OF THE TRACK.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CEN09MA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09MA117), Jan 4, 2009: Sikorsky S-76C (N748P), Morgan City, LA, destroyed, 8 fatal. Probable cause: (1) the sudden loss of power to both engines that resulted from impact with a bird (red-tailed hawk), which fractured the windshield and interfered with engine fuel controls, and (2) the subsequent…

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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