Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

League City, Texas 77573
Thursday, October 26, 1995 1:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The instrument-rated commercial pilot did not obtain a weather briefing nor file a flight plan for the dark night flight to Houston. The helicopter departed Galveston about 0125. Several residents of the area reported low ceilings, and the visibility was misty and hazy. The helicopter was located by a company search aircraft 3 miles southwest of League City. Examination of the airframe and engines did not disclose any structural or mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation. The company's operation manual requires that the flight crew obtain a weather briefing prior to all flight operations and to obtain weather updates during the entire flight. The aircraft was not equipped for IMC flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. Factors were the pilot's lack of total experience in the MBB BO-105 helicopter and the dark night light conditions.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/26/1995
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 140
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City LEAGUE CITY
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77573
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 155 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 350
Weather Observation Facility ID EFD
Elevation of weather observation facility 34
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 700
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 120
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1837
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 26 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1347
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:39PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N105AG
NTSB Number FTW96FA028
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mbb
Aircraft Model BO-105S
Aircraft Series Identifier BO-105S
Aircraft Serial Number 597
Certified Max Gross Weight 5291
Aircraft Category Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 7 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 26
Airframe Hours 10848
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ASSOCIATED AIRCRAFT GROUP, INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 49 MIRY BROOK ROAD
Aircraft Owner City DANBURY
Aircraft Owner State CT
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 06810
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code AYPA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code GLS
Departure City GALVESTON
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 130
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code HOU
Destination City HOUSTN
Destination State TX
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --