- Date
- July 14, 1988, 07:25 local (12:25 UTC)
- Place
- Gulf-Of-Mexico
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 14 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N47307Aerospatiale SA330J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880714026579A
- Case key
- 22557
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
None submitted
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
Drg lift-off from an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the helicopter bgn a slow uncommanded left turn. The plt tried to fly it by lowering the nose & increasing collective. After 2 turns, the helicopter settled & impacted the water in a left bank, nose down attitude. The auto-plt was not disconnected, nor were the floats inflated. No preimpact mech failure was found. Interviews revealed the helicopter was not stabilized in a hover before initiating a takeoff. There was a previous write-up which stated 'a/c requires more right pedal than usual in hover and forward flight.' In responseto this write-up, a mechanic had adjusted a tube which ran rearward from the pedal assembly to the lower portion of the auto-pilot system. The maintenance manual described this tube as being one of the 'semi-fixed' rods. Referring to these rods, the manual cautioned, 'they are adjusted once for all when they are fitted to the aircraft. They must not be adjusted subsequently.'
Aircraft
- Registration
- N47307
- Reported as
- Aerospatiale SA330J
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1402
- Airframe hours
- 4,727
- Engine
- Turbomeca TURMO IVC, 1,495 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Petroleum Helicopters
- Registered owner
- Topspin Data Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · July 9, 1988 · 5 hours before
- Destination
- Eugene Island, OF
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11,687 total · 2,075 in this make and model · 8,044 as pilot in command · 204 in the last 90 days · 88 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.