- Date
- August 8, 1982, 12:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Isle, LA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N59504Bell 206B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 8, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820808055229A
- Case key
- 70877
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was approaching an offshore platform for landing at about 100 ft AGL when he felt the helicopter shudder. He also heard an engine-out horn and a low-rotor-rpm warning. He turned away from the platform, popped the emergency floats and initiated an autorotative landing. However, the floats were not yet fully inflated at the time of water contact and the helicopter immediately flipped inverted. An examination revealed that the outer shaft in the free-wheeling unit had failed at the spline area. This allowed the engine to go into an overspeed. Then automatically shut down.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N59504
- Reported as
- Bell 206B
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1341
- Airframe hours
- 8,027
- Engine
- Allison C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Petroleum Helicopter
- Registered owner
- Petroleum Helicopter
- Departed
- 0LA5 · Grand Isle, LA
- Destination
- Timbalier Blk 2, GM
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,485 total · 247 in this make and model · 2,265 as pilot in command · 157 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 135° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 181 °F
- Observed at
- 18 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.