- Date
- December 9, 1990, 08:42 local (14:42 UTC)
- Place
- W.Cameron 266
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N5753BBell 206L-1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 12, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901209053199A
- Case key
- 23297
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
Failure of the helicopter's aft landing gear crosstube assembly due to fatigue.
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
An ATP rated helicopter pilot was landing on a helipad atop an oil platform in the gulf of Mexico. Upon touchdown, the right rear landing skid collapsed causing the tail rotor to strike the deck. As the pilot applied collective pitch to level the aircraft, the aircraft started spinning. The helicopter's main rotor blades struck the deck and separated as the fuselage spun off the helideck, landing on a lower deck. Metallurgical examination revealed that the failure was due to high cycle low stress fatigue.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5753B
- Reported as
- Bell 206L-1
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 45514
- Engine
- Allison 250-C28B, 650 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Industrial Helicopters, Inc.
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- NONE · W. Cameron 266
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
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Helicopter, Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 10,049 total · 6,016 in this make and model · 8,796 as pilot in command · 245 in the last 90 days · 71 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.