- Date
- July 11, 1985, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Matagorda Islng, LA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N3594NAerospatiale AS-350D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850711030579A
- Case key
- 21561
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 acft touched down hard during an attempted autorotation to an abandoned air base. Initial touchdown occurred on the stinger and the acft yawed to the left of rwy heading 30 to 40 degrees. The next touchdown was on the skids and the acft yawed further to the left to aprx 45 degrees. Following this, the acft rolled over. No evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction of the acft could be found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3594N
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale AS-350D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1093
- Airframe hours
- 3,996
- Engine
- Lycoming LTS 101 600A, 590 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Petroleum Helicopters Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · June 22, 1985 · 176 hours before
- Departed
- Matagorda 623, GM
- Destination
- Port Oconner, TX
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- Matagorda Island, runway 20, 6,000 × 200 ft, concrete
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
- 29
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,610 total · 141 in this make and model · 1,476 as pilot in command · 191 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VCT
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.