- Date
- August 10, 1987, 16:55 local (21:55 UTC)
- Place
- Eugene Island
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5000YBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 27, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870810043909A
- Case key
- 22416
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 experienced a main rotor blade strike during takeoff from an offshore platform. The rotor blade struck the underside of a cable raceway on a drilling rig that was situated adjacent to the platform helideck. The raceway was 9 feet laterally and 22 feet above the helideck edge. Plt had landed on the helideck while another acft was parked on the deck requiring accident plt to make an app to a hover then slide sideways across the pad and set down with the main rotor blades under lapping the botom of the jack up drilling platform. After liftoff to a hover, the plt was attempting to transition to fwd flt when the rotor strike occurred. Following the strike, he attempted to inflate. Opr's SOP calls for minimum of 1/3 rotor disc clearance from all obstacles during t/o and lndg. This clearance could not be maintained with one acft already parked on the helideck.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5000Y
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45160
- Airframe hours
- 10,482
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28, 435 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Petroleum Helicopters,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Petroleum Helicopters, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- GM
- Destination
- EL85 · Eugene Is.85, GM
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- Eugene Island
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 5,502 total · 3,059 in this make and model · 5,390 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- S198
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5000Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.