Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Thibodaux, Louisiana 70301
Tuesady, December 5, 1995 12:01 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The helicopter was hovering at 55 feet agl, parallel to a power line cable, facing east-southeast. The wind was from 200 to 210 degees at 5 to 10 knots. The rotation plane of the tail rotor blades was about 38 inches from the nearest wire. A crew member, held by a safety harness, was working from the left side of the helicopter intalling an overhead ground wire in roller blocks. The crew member's work platform was about 4 inches from the overhead ground wire when, as the pilot described, 'the cyclic suddenly moved to the left and maybe slightly forward. (The helicoper) immediately started moving to the left and into the pole and line.' The pilot further stated that he was 'trying to stop the cyclic' and move it to the right; however, 'cyclic movement to the right had a restriction,' and the 'helicopter struck the pole and/or the shield wire, pivoted to the left and up, over the shield wire,' and 'began to spin.' It impacted the ground, fire erupted, and the helicopter came to rest inverted. The pilot escaped the fire, but the crew member sustained fatal injuries. Investigation revealed the helicopter's center-of-gravity was left-lateral (-2.67 inches), the limit was -3.00 inches, and about 25% of right cyclic travel was available to the pilot. A gouge mark was found on the side of the power pole matching the helicopters work flatform. No preexisting cracks or discontinuities were found in unburned flight controls, although most of the controls were consumed by fire.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain clearance from the power line and utility pole. The gusty/crosswind (weather) condition was a related factor.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/5/1995
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1201
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City THIBODAUX
Event State LOUISIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 70301
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 12
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 1246 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 175
Weather Observation Facility ID HUM
Elevation of weather observation facility 5
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 12
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2000
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) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 15
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 1
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2069
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 5 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1310
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:50PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N16089
NTSB Number FTW96FA060
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name McDonnell Douglas
Aircraft Model 369E
Aircraft Series Identifier 369E
Aircraft Serial Number 0443E
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 26 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 37
Airframe Hours 3622
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HAVERFIELD CORPORATION
Aircraft Owner Street Address 200 S. BISCAYNE BLVD. STE 5400
Aircraft Owner City MIAMI
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33131
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 HXFL
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation External Load
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Hover
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 --