Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Offshore Platform Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Eugene Isl 259, -- 00000
Sunday, October 22, 2006 7:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The two crewmembers (pilot and copilot) of the twin-engine helicopter were scheduled to fly to an offshore oil platform located about 60 miles from their shore base. The helicopter was inadvertently flown into the water while the attention of both crewmembers was diverted to arming the emergency float system and activating the windshield wipers. The flight crew had made two unsuccessful attempts to pick up a passenger on the previous day, and had been unable to reach the platform due to inclement weather in the area. Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) prevailed as the crew attempted to locate and land on the platform. The copilot, who reported having accumulated a total of 10 hours in the same make and model, reported that while performing the pre-landing checklist, the helicopter impacted the water in a near-level attitude. The 16,848-hours helicopter pilot and the 1,371-hours copilot were able to egress from the helicopter and were able to swim for 2.5 hours to an abandoned platform, from which they were rescued by helicopter. The emergency float equipped helicopter rolled over and sank. The helicopter was located and recovered a few days after the mishap. The flight crew reported that there were no maintenance problems or malfunctions with the helicopter prior to their inadvertent impact with the water.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The flight crew's failure to maintain clearance with the water and their diverted attention to secondary tasks while preparing to land. Contributing factor were the low ceilings and the heavy rains restricting their visibility.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/22/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 730 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Eugene Isl 259 |
| Event State | GULF OF MEXICO |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 00000 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 282808N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0912708W |
| Event Location Airport | Offshore Platform |
| 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 | 0.1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 80 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 631 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | K7R3 |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 500 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 25 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 340 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 15 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21457 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 22 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 29 2007 12:24PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Baton Rouge, Lousiana |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N22342 |
| NTSB Number | DFW07LA011 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | Y |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Company VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Sikorsky |
| Aircraft Model | S-76A++ |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 760096 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10800 |
| 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 | 14 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 19725 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | -- |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| 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 | 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | MCY |
| Departure City | Amelia |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 658 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | Eugene Is. 259 |
| Destination State | GM |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Landing |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 12 2007 5:45PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| 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 | -- |