Era Heliport Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Port O'connor, Texas 77983
Tuesady, January 7, 1986 16:35 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE HELICOPTER SUSTAINED A LOSS OF TAILROTOR DRIVE ON LIFT OFF. A BONDING IN A SHAFT COUPLING FAILED. EXTENSIVE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS DISCOVERED NO DISCREPANCIES IN DESIGN, PRODUCTION, QUALITY ASSURANCE, MAINTENANCE OR OPERATING ENVIRONMENT THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN THIS FAILURE. ONLY ONE PREVIOUS OCCURRENCE WAS DOCUMENTED, IN AN ASSEMBLY FROM ANOTHER VENDOR.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/7/1986
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1635
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City PORT O'CONNOR
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77983
Event Date Year 1986
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport ERA HELIPORT
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 2TA5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 8
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
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 600
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 340
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 20
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 5
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1799
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 9 1986 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 730
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information 32260
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 2:57PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N520EH
NTSB Number FTW86FA033
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 206B
Aircraft Series Identifier 206B
Aircraft Serial Number 3020
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 5
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection Jan 3 1986 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 9
Airframe Hours 4594
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ERA HELICOPTERS INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 762
Aircraft Owner City ANCHORAGE
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99510
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
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 1635
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City OFFSHORE RIG
Destination State GM
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 2:56PM
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 --