Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Intracoastal, Louisiana 70508
Friday, May 5, 2006 7:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that prior to bringing the helicopter to a hover, he ran the engine to 100 percent, brought the helicopter to a hover, and proceeded to hover to the center of the helideck for a pre-takeoff check. All systems and controls were found to be operating normally. The pilot took off on a southeast heading and established a climb at a rate of 500 feet per minute. Somewhere between 300 and 400 feet, the pilot initiated a left turn to a northerly heading. At that time the pilot experienced an uncommanded cyclic movement to the right-forward quadrant and the collective started to come up (increase). The pilot added that the nose of the helicopter pitched-up and the helicopter started to roll to the left. The pilot stated that he concluded that he had experienced "a hydraulic failure of some kind," so as per the emergency procedures, he turned the hydraulic control switch on the collective lever to the "off" position. The pilot added that the hydraulic light on the console was activated indicating that the hydraulics were "off." The action taken by the pilot were not effective and the pilot was not able to regain control of the helicopter. The helicopter continued rolling to the left and entered a spin to the left while the helicopter remained in a nose low attitude. The pilot stated that the helicopter spun for about 3 to 5 revolutions and impacted the water between a 70 and a 90 degree nose down attitude. The pilot recalled that about the second spin, he initiated a "mayday" call. The pilot added that the helicopter impacted the water hard. After impacting the water, the helicopter rolled inverted, but continued to float. Prior to exiting, the pilot reported that he discharged the helicopter's float inflation bottle. The 3 main rotor servos, part number SC 5091-1 (serial numbers 877, 1393, and 533) and the Hydraulic Power Pack were examined at the Goodrich-SAMM facilities in France, under the control and supervision of the BEA. All 3 servocontrols were found to be in good conditions and performed within limits. The Hydraulic Power Pack was found to have extensive impact damage and the hydraulic pump had separated from the power back, and was missing. The actuators and the hydraulic system showed no anomalies and performed within the limits for the manufacturers' specification. The investigation concluded that the control system was installed and properly connected prior to the helicopter impact with the water. No defects or anomalies were found during the examinations that could have prevented normal operation. Additionally, all of the rotating components for the drive-train of the helicopter (main rotor blades, the rotor hub, the swatchplate, the scissors drive, the free wheel, the main gear box (transmission),etc.,) underwent a detailed examination at the manufacturer's facility in Marignane, France, under the supervision of the BEA. The examination concluded that all of the observed damage and fractures were due to overload. The investigation was inconclusive and was unable to find any pre-existing defects. The investigation concluded that the control system was properly installed and connected prior to the helicopter impact with the water. No defects or anomalies were found during the examinations that could have prevented normal operation. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's loss of control for undetermined reasons.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 5/5/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 730 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Intracoastal |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 70508 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 5 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 285839N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0912811W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 753 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | LFT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 42 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 4 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 22 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 21 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 0 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.98 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| 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) | 23283 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | May 5 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 31 2008 11:52AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Baton Rouge |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N514AL |
| NTSB Number | DFW06LA118 |
| 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 | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Eurocopter |
| Aircraft Model | EC120B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1266 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3700 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Mar 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 55.8 |
| Airframe Hours | 2672 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Air Logistics LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4605 Industrial Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | New Iberia |
| Aircraft Owner State | LA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 70560 |
| 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 | ALGA |
| 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 | Intracoastal Ci |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 715 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| 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 | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 26 2008 9:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\HAMG |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |