# NTSB FTW99LA076: Bell 206-B3, N907CA, Sabine Pass, TX, February 6, 1999 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: February 5, 1999, 18:50 local (Feb 6, 1999, 00:50 UTC) - Place: Sabine Pass, TX - Coordinates: 29.730899, -93.890213 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7309&lon=-93.8902&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 45721 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW99LA076 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45721/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA076 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions and subsequent spatial disorientation. Factors were the dark night conditions, the fog, and the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing prior to the flight. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight encounter with weather, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - vfr flight into imc - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - preflight briefing service - not obtained, pilot in command (contributing factor) - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - weather condition - fog (contributing factor) - Loss of control - in flight, approach - vfr pattern - final approach - aircraft control - not maintained, pilot in command - spatial disorientation, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, approach - vfr pattern - final approach ## Analysis The non-instrument rated helicopter pilot lost control of the helicopter on final approach after inadvertently entering a fog bank at night. The pilot became disoriented, and the helicopter impacted the water near Sabine Pass, Texas. The pilot stated that he called a coworker located in Angleton and was told the 'weather was flyable.' The pilot flew the helicopter from Sabine Pass, Texas, to Angleton, where it underwent 1.5 hours of routine maintenance work. The pilot did not get a weather briefing prior to the return flight to Sabine Pass. ## Factual narrative On February 5, 1999, approximately 1850 central standard time, a Bell 206-B3 helicopter, N907CA, was substantially damaged when it impacted water during final approach to a private heliport near Sabine Pass, Texas. The non-instrument rated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was owned by a private individual and operated by Horizon Helicopters Inc., of Angleton, Texas. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and a company VFR flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 positioning flight which originated from Angleton, Texas, at 1820. During a telephone interview conducted by the investigator-in-charge (IIC), the pilot stated that he called a coworker to check the destination weather at the Angleton base prior to the maintenance flight to Angleton. The pilot was told that "the weather was flyable." After arriving at Angleton, the helicopter underwent a "seven-day routine maintenance inspection" for 1.5 hours. The pilot did not get a weather briefing prior to the return flight back to home base located near Sabine Pass, Texas. According to the pilot, the weather for the flight back from Angleton was night VFR along the route until he reached his destination. The pilot "turned right on final approach at approximately 300 feet AGL, and entered some fog, became disoriented, and then impacted the water." The helicopter then rolled inverted and became partially submerged in five feet of water. Galveston Municipal Airport, which is 55 miles southwest of the accident site, was reporting the weather at 1816 as winds from 120 degrees at 10 knots, 3 statute miles visibility with mist, ceilings broken at 200 and 900 feet agl, and overcast at 4,000 feet agl, temperature and dewpoint 66 degrees Fahrenheit, and altimeter of 30.17 inches of Hg. Damage to the helicopter included a separated tail-boom and structural damage to the fuselage. The pilot had accumulated 2,455 hours of total flight time at the time of the accident, of which 650 hours were in the accident aircraft make and model. The pilot held an instrument rating in airplanes, but not helicopters. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N907CA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N907CA-2017-05-15), registration cancelled 2017-05-15, S/N 4130, built 1990 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bell 206-B3 - Registry model: [Bell 206B](https://openairdocs.org/model/bell-206b) (registry code 1181511) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Allison 250-C20 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (registry code 03020, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Helicopter - Serial number: 4130 - Airframe hours: 5058 - Engines: Allison 250C-20B 414 horsepower turbo shaft - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: Horizon Helicopters Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, January 29, 1999, 27 hours before - Departed: LBX, ANGLETON, TX - Destination: NONE, SABINE PASS, TX - Flight plan: Company VFR - Airport: NONE, None ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: right; flight hours: 2,455 total, 650 in this make and model, 2,050 as pilot in command, 168 in the last 90 days, 81 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Night/dark - Wind: 120° at 10 knots - Visibility: 3 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 900 ft broken - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: GLS, 55 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19990205001139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990205001139A), Feb 5, 1999: Bell 206B3, Sabine Pass, TX, Substantial damage. (Tty) pilot became lost in the fog, and the acft crashed into the east bay. Other circumstances are unknown. (-23) aircraft flew into fog, pilot became… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.