Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Central Industries Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Intracoastal City, Louisiana 70510
Friday, October 5, 2012 7:58 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On October 5, 2012, about 0758 central daylight time, a Bell 407 helicopter, N406AL, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain shortly after takeoff from Central Industries Airport (2LA0), near Intracoastal City, Louisiana. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by Bristow US LLC, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 while on a company flight plan. Day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the post-maintenance flight that was originating at the time of the accident.
According to the operator, the pilot was performing the post-maintenance flight to identify if there was any residual oil left behind during a routine phase check that had been completed the previous evening. At 0756, the pilot sent an electronic message to the company’s flight-following center located in New Iberia, Louisiana, to activate his local flight plan. He reported having 1 hour of fuel on-board. Several witnesses reported seeing the helicopter startup and enter a low altitude hover over the landing pad before it hover-taxied toward runway 24. One witness reported that she saw the helicopter depart on the runway heading and disappear into fog or a low cloud ceiling. Several witnesses reported hearing a sound consistent with a ground impact shortly after the helicopter had departed toward the southwest.
Another operator based at 2LA0 reported that one of their helicopters had departed about 16 minutes before the time of the accident. The pilot of that helicopter reported that during departure he was able to see down the entire length of the airstrip (3,100 feet by 75 feet). However, after climbing above the surrounding tree line he observed ground fog, approximately 75-100 feet thick, immediately adjacent to the east side of the airbase near the Bristow facility. He reported that as he continued toward his planned destination, toward the west, there were no visibility restrictions.
The closest weather observing station was located at the Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport (KIYA), about 13.6 miles north-northeast of the departure airstrip. At 0755, the KIYA automated surface observing system reported the following weather conditions: calm wind, visibility 1/4 mile with fog, overcast ceiling 200 feet above ground level, temperature 20 degrees Celsius, dew point 20 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.14 inches of mercury.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/5/2012 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 758 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Intracoastal City |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 70510 |
| Event Date Year | 2012 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 294714N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0920930W |
| Event Location Airport | Central Industries Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 2LA0 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 755 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 19 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KIYA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 16 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 12 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 200 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Overcast |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 0.25 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 20 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 20 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.14 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KIYA 051255Z AUTO 00000KT 1/4SM FG OVC002 20 |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB Communications Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 25 2012 6:40PM |
| User who most recently changed record | bakd |
| Basic weather conditions | Instrument Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N406AL |
| NTSB Number | CEN13FA003 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| 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 | Bell |
| Aircraft Model | 407 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 53481 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5250 |
| 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 | 7 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 4 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 11466 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C126 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Bristow US, LLC. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4605 Industrial Drive |
| Aircraft Owner City | New Iberia |
| Aircraft Owner State | LA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 70560-9124 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Bristow US, LLC. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 4605 Industrial Drive |
| Operator City | New Iberia |
| Operator State | LA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 70560-9124 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | 2LA0 |
| Departure City | Intracoastal City |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 756 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | 2LA0 |
| Destination City | Intracoastal City |
| Destination State | LA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 23 2012 3:49PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 24 |
| Runway Length | 3100 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |