Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
E.I. 276 Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
E.I. 276, Louisiana
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 11:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The on-demand offshore helicopter flight received substantial damage when, according to a witness, it rolled right and off the platform during takeoff. A passenger aboard the flight said that the distance between the helicopter's right landing gear skid and the refueling station was enough to allow two people to walk through. Examination of the wreckage and platform revealed the presence of witness marks and paint transfer on the helideck and right landing skid. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Witnesses reported that the helicopter landed next to the refueling station on the helideck with a left crosswind of 10-20 mph and one of these witnesses said that the winds increased to 45-50 mph with misting rain. Another witness said that the wind was high and increased in intensity. Rain was also present and he noted a bolt of lightning in the vicinity. No anomalies were noted with the helicopter's propulsion and flight control systems.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate compensation for crosswind conditions and the directional control not obtained/maintained by the pilot during takeoff. Contributing factors were the crosswind and the planned approach to position the helicopter with a crosswind in order to perform hot refueling adjacent to the helideck refueling station.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/13/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 1130 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | E.I. 276 |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | -- |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 282530N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0912700W |
| Event Location Airport | E.I. 276 |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | -- |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 80 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1153 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | K3B6 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 2 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 23 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Light |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 3 |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 5 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 20566 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 13 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1346 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 3 2006 2:46PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Baton Rouge FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N41128 |
| NTSB Number | CHI03FA259 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 206L-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 51134 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 4150 |
| 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 | Aug 8 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 5.35 |
| Airframe Hours | 12534 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Petrolium 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 | Petrolium Helicopters Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2001 SE Evangeline Thruway |
| Operator City | Lafayette |
| Operator State | LA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 70508 |
| Operator Code | HEEA |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | E.I. 276 |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1130 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | 7LSR |
| Destination City | Intracoastal Ci |
| Destination State | LA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | Yes |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 9 2005 8:28AM |
| User who most recently changed record | SULP |
| 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 | -- |