- Date
- April 17, 1990, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- E. Island Blk15
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 4 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1071ABell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900417009499A
- Case key
- 23122
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
The loss of continuity in the compressor section of the engine due to a fatique failure of the spur adapter gear shaft.
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
During a flight over the gulf of Mexico, the helicopter had a loss of engine power. Before touchdown, the pilot deployed the floats. The landing was hard enough for one of the passengers to receive serious injuries. Sometime after the pilot and passengers were rescued, the helicopter rolled over in the glassy, smooth, water. Teardown of the engine revealed that the spur adapter gear shaft had lost its hardness, and that evidence of fatigue was present in the camponents. It was not determined what the cyclic value of the fatigue cracks were, however, the point of origin was determined to be a rubbed area on the spur adapter gear shaft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1071A
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45340
- Airframe hours
- 4,070
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28B, 500 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Houston Helicopter Inc.
- Registered owner
- Notlef, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 14, 1990 · 10 hours before
- Departed
- GI82 · Grand Island 82, GM
- Destination
- 1R5 · Cameron, LA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 14,500 total · 1,748 in this make and model · 11,180 as pilot in command · 112 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 64 °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.