# Accident 20171026020359A: Airbus EC130, La Paloma, TX, October 26, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 26, 2017, 08:40 local time
- Place: La Paloma, TX
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.1300° N, 97.9700° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.1300&lon=-97.9700&mi=10
- Aircraft: N22TZ, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N22TZ) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Airbus Helicopters EC 130 T2 (registry code 1145302, https://openairdocs.org/model/airbus-helicopters-ec-130-t2) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Turbomeca ARRIEL-2D (registry code 60080, https://openairdocs.org/engine/turbomeca-arriel-2d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRBUS EC130
- Reported engine: TURBOMECA ARRIEL 2D
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 8,400 total, 300 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA18CA034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA034) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20171026020359A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 26, 2017, AT 8:40AM CST, AN AIRBUS EC130 HELICOPTER BEARING REGISTRATION NUMBER N22TZ, REGISTERED TO KESTREL HOLDINGS LLC, SUFFERED ROTOR BLADE DAMAGE TO ONE BLADE WHEN A WEIGHT CAME OFF OF A GAME NET WHEN FIRED FROM THE HELICOPTER. THE WEIGHT IMPACTED THE BLADE AND WENT COMPLETELY THROUGH LEAVING A HOLE ABOUT 2/3 FROM THE HUB. THE CREW HEARD A SOUND BEST DESCRIBED AS A ?WHOOSHING NOISE?, THERE WAS NO VIBRATION, DROP IN ROTOR SPEED, OR OTHER ANOMALY NOTED. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED ON A WILDLIFE ANTI-DEPREDATION OPERATION (PART 91).   VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE ROTOR BLADE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED, AND THE PILOT, OBSERVER AND GUNNER WERE NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM LA PALOMA, TX.

## 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 GAA18CA034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA034), Oct 26, 2017: Airbus Helicopters EC 130 (N22TZ), La Paloma, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The separation of a weight from the gunner’s net, which struck the helicopter’s main rotor blade during flight.

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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