ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 153919
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| Date: | 08-JUL-2003 |
| Time: | 11:47 |
| Type: |  Eurocopter EC 120B Colibri |
| Owner/operator: | Texair Helicopters Inc/CFS Air |
| Registration: | N162TA |
| MSN: | 1001 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Ship Shoal 80, GM -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | VM-22, GM |
| Ship Shoal 80, GM | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that upon arriving at Ship Shoal 80 (SS-80) platform located in the Gulf of Mexico, he performed a fly-by and then proceeded to circle the platform to the right, so one of the passengers could take aerial photographs of another helicopter on the helipad. The pilot further reported that he setup for an approach from the north of the platform and came to a hover 4 to 5 feet above the helicopter-deck to see if there was enough room to land. After accessing the situation, he started to "slide to the left" and ascend. Subsequently, he "heard and felt a bang from the rear of the aircraft, followed by the low rotor rpm horn." Continuing his "slide to the left" to move away from the platform, he lowered the nose to gain forward airspeed. During the descent, he informed the passengers that they were going down and deployed the emergency floats. The pilot stated that the landing "was soft onto the water, and was stable upon touchdown." After shutdown of the helicopter, he initiated an evacuation onto an inflatable life raft. Examination of the helicopter after the accident revealed that the tips of all three main rotor blades were damaged. Further examination of the blade tips and the platform obstructions revealed that the main rotor tip path plane appeared to have contacted the main rotor blade tie-down sock of a parked/stationary helicopter that was in the proximity to where the accident helicopter was hovering.
Probable Cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with a parked/stationary aircraft.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20030715X01110&key=1
AFM AUG 2003
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Mar-2013 12:46 | TB | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 08-Dec-2017 18:55 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 30-Dec-2020 21:07 | TB | Updated [Operator, Source, Damage] |
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