Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Grand Lake, Louisiana 70607
Friday, March 15, 2013 11:47 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On March 15, 2013, about 1147 central daylight time, a Sikorsky S-76A++ helicopter, N574EH, was substantially damaged after ground impact near Grand Lake, Louisiana. All three occupants onboard, the pilot and two maintenance personnel, were fatally injured. The helicopter was registered to Era Helicopters LLC and was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a post-maintenance check flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which departed from Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH), Lake Charles, Louisiana, at 1119.
While returning to LCH in cruise flight about 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL), the pilot radioed to the LCH control tower that he had an emergency and would be immediately landing off the airport. Radar data provided by the FAA showed the helicopter in a descent prior to contact being lost. The wreckage of the helicopter was found about 5 miles southeast of the threshold for Runway 33 at LCH. The helicopter was consumed by a post-crash fire.
A witness, who was a helicopter pilot, stated that he observed the accident helicopter in a shallow descent as it passed just east of his house about 600 feet AGL. He stated that the helicopter was producing an unusual, grinding noise as it passed over his house.
On-scene investigation of the airframe revealed that two tail rotor blades were missing from the helicopter. The missing tail rotor blades have not been located as of the date of this preliminary report.
The weather observing station at LCH reported the following conditions at 1153: wind 180 degrees at 13 knots with gusts to 19 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 23 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, altimeter setting 30.05.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/15/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1147 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Grand Lake |
| Event State | LOUISIANA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 70607 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 300346N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0931739W |
| 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 | 1153 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 330 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KLCH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 15 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 23 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 14 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 180 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 19 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | ERA Flight Operations |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 20 2013 10:27AM |
| User who most recently changed record | bowl |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N574EH |
| NTSB Number | CEN13FA192 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | SIKORSKY |
| Aircraft Model | S-76A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 760369 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 10800 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 12 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 14 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 10 2013 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 6 |
| Airframe Hours | 6760 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | C91 |
| Aircraft Owner Name | ERA HELICOPTERS LLC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 600 AIRPORT SERVICE RD |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAKE CHARLES |
| Aircraft Owner State | LA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 70605 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | ERA HELICOPTERS LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 600 AIRPORT SERVICE RD |
| Operator City | LAKE CHARLES |
| Operator State | LA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 70605 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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) | Other Work Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KLCH |
| Departure City | Lake Charles |
| Departure State | LA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1119 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KLCH |
| Destination City | Lake Charles |
| Destination State | LA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 18 2013 11:08PM |
| User who most recently changed record | folm |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |