Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
High Island 443, -- 00000
Saturday, February 22, 2003 9:33 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During hot refueling operation on an offshore platform, a passenger, who was assisting in the refueling, was struck by the helicopter's main rotor blades. Due to the location of the platform stairwell, the pilot elected to position the helicopter on the platform with a quartering headwind from the right. The pilot "confirmed the [aircraft] was stable by pedal and control inputs prior to allowing [passengers] exit to begin fueling." Both passengers exited the helicopter and assisted in the refueling. During the refueling operation with the engine at ground idle, the helicopter began to "feel light", and slide to the left. The helicopter continued to the left and came to a stop approximately 1 to 2 feet from the edge of the platform. The pilot shut down the helicopter and noticed both passengers lying on the platform. The surviving passenger reported, "[a] wind gust took aircraft [and] it began to slide. [He] unhooked [the] ground cable, pulled hose out, ran from [the] aircraft, laid on deck, [the other passenger] was by the pump controller (fuel pit), proceeded to get out of the way and was struck by the main rotor." Another offshore platform, located approximately 6 miles from the accident site, reported the wind from 320 degrees at 33 knots.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the helicopter during the hot refueling operation which resulted in the main rotor blades striking the passenger. A contributing factor was the high wind conditions.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 2/22/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 933 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | High Island 443 |
| Event State | GULF OF MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00000 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 2 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 282100N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0935800W |
| 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 | 1145 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 40 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KH08 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 0 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 6 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 15 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 14 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 7 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 320 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 33 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.77 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 1 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 14913 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Petroleum Helicopters Inc. |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 22 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1100 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 2 2004 8:07AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Houston, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N740PH |
| NTSB Number | FTW03LA101 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 407 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 53435 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5250 |
| 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 | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 14 2002 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 98.4 |
| Airframe Hours | 1510 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 2001 SE Evangeline Thruway |
| Aircraft Owner City | Lafayette |
| Aircraft Owner State | LA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 70508 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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 | HEEL |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | High Island 442 |
| Departure State | GM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 922 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | High Island 443 |
| Destination State | GM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Standing - engine(s) operating |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 31 2003 10:11AM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |