Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
South Lafourche Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Galliano, Louisiana 70354
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 8:25 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airline transport-rated pilot executed a precautionary landing following an uncommanded right yaw and in-flight control anomalies. The operator reported that approximately 35 minutes into flight, the aircraft suddenly yawed "violently" to the right with slight nose tuck. The tail rotor pedals were simultaneously driven to near full right position. The co-pilot immediately reduced collective and IAS, corrected with left pedal while canceling the Flight Director. The aircraft oscillated twice at medium intensity and relatively small magnitude. Control of the aircraft was then passed to the pilot-in-command who reestablished straight and level flight at reduced power, with full right pedal required. Cruise power at this time was approximately 60 percent. The crew reviewed the prescribed emergency procedures and notified company dispatch. In-flight troubleshooting revealed no remedial effect from securing one or both Helipilot SAS systems. Hydraulic systems not cycled, but pressure was noted as "normal" on both systems. Hydraulic boost to pedals appeared "normal." Slight left pedal input confirmed tail rotor control input. Controlled slow flight ability was confirmed down to 40 knots with resultant increasing right yaw. The 12,900-hour pilot executed a normal approach, touched down at 25 to 30 knots, and controlled the yaw with the collective and throttle. Examination of the aircraft by the operator revealed that the upper/left bolt that secures the tail rotor pitch control bellcrank support was bent and loose in the nutplate. The lower/left bolt had sheared just below the bolt head, and the lower/right bolt was sheared in the threaded area in the nutplate. Control movement was checked with no binding, lost motion or unusual noises. No additional anomalies were noted in the tail rotor control system.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The loss of tail rotor control due to sheared, loose, and bent bolts which secured the tail rotor pitch control bellcrank support bracket.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/3/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Wednesday |
| Time of Event | 825 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Galliano |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 70354 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 292641N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0901540W |
| Event Location Airport | South Lafourche |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | L49 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 1 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 6000 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 16 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 11 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 60 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.18 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 11 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15692 |
| NTSB Notification Source | |
| NTSB Notification Date | Feb 20 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 900 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 30 2004 12:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA Rotorcraft Directorete |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N5017H |
| NTSB Number | FTW04IA077 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | BH-212 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 30930 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 11200 |
| 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 | 13 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 2 2003 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3.1 |
| Airframe Hours | 10799.1 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Evergreen Equity, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 3850 Three Mile Lane |
| Aircraft Owner City | McMinnville |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97128 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Evergreen Helicopters International, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 2001 Terminal Drive |
| Operator City | Galveston |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77554 |
| Operator Code | EGIA |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | NONE |
| Departure City | GOM SS358 |
| Departure State | GM |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 750 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | OLS2 |
| Destination City | Fourchon |
| Destination State | LA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 26 2004 8:47PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 3800 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |