Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Dhahran Saudi Arabia
Saturday, October 2, 1999 16:15 GMT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On October 2, 1999, at 1615 GMT, a Bell 214 ST twin-engine helicopter, N704H, was substantially damaged upon impact with the water during takeoff from an offshore platform in the Arabian Gulf, near Dhahran, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The helicopter was owned and operated by the Aramco Aviation Department, of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Twenty persons were aboard the helicopter. The two airline transport rated pilots and ten of the passengers were fatally injured. Eight passengers survived with minor injuries. The helicopter was transporting personnel for the scheduled evening crew change from the oil/gas platform, located 35 nautical miles offshore, to the operator's base in Ras Tanura. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the business flight for which a company VFR flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
Witnesses near the platform reported that the helicopter crashed into the water shortly after liftoff from the 88 foot tall helideck. Survivors concurred that the helicopter's entry into the water was "soft and gentle." The floats of the helicopter inflated during the accident sequence; however, the helicopter rolled inverted in the water.
The investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Any further information may be obtained from:
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defense and Aviation Presidency of Civil Aviation Aviation Standards and Safety P.O. Box 1165 Jeddah 21431 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained for the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/2/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1615 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | DHAHRAN |
| Event State | -- |
| Event Country | SAUDI ARABIA |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00000 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| 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 | 1900 |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | DHR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | |
| Lighting Conditions | Not Reported |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 31 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 30 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| 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 | 12 |
| Injury Total Minor | 8 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 20 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 0 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 2 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 2045 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 9:14AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N704H |
| NTSB Number | FTW00RA003 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Unknown |
| Aircraft Explosion | Unknown |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 214ST |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 214ST |
| Aircraft Serial Number | |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | Unknown |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | -- |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | |
| Aircraft Owner City | |
| Aircraft Owner State | |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | P.O. BOX 80 |
| Operator City | DHAHRAN |
| Operator State | OF |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 00000 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| 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) | Executive/Corporate |
| Second Pilot on Board | Unknown |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 0 |
| Departure Time Zone | |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | RTN |
| Destination City | RAS TANURA |
| Destination State | OF |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 3 2001 9:58AM |
| 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 | -- |