W. Cameron 266 Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

W.Cameron 266
Sunday, December 9, 1990 8:42 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

FAILURE OF THE HELICOPTER'S AFT LANDING GEAR CROSSTUBE ASSEMBLY DUE TO FATIGUE.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/9/1990
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 842
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City W.CAMERON 266
Event State GULF OF MEXICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 00000
Event Date Year 1990
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport W. CAMERON 266
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Partial - limited by briefer
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 20
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 40
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) 0
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 2283
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 9 1990 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1425
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 44628
Date of most recent change to record Dec 18 2002 11:28AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\GIUV
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5753B
NTSB Number FTW91LA023
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name BELL
Aircraft Model 206L-1
Aircraft Series Identifier 206L-1
Aircraft Serial Number 45514
Certified Max Gross Weight 4050
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 7
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
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 INDUSTRIAL HELICOPTERS, INC.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 90210
Operator City LAFAYETTE
Operator State LA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 70502
Operator Code IIFA
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 --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 821
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 Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
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 --