Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 N359E
19 August 1987 · Ship Shoal 214C · Serious injuries
Summary
On 19 August 1987 at about 16:35 local time, a Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 registered N359E was involved in an accident near Ship Shoal 214C. 4 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.
The record
- Date
- at 16:35
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ship Shoal 214C
- Nearest airport
- Ship Shoal 214C
- Coordinates
- Not recorded
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS-355F-1
- Registration
- N359E
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Executive/Corporate
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Unknown → Ship Shoal 246
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW87FA203
People
2 people were seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Probable cause
The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.
Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.
Read the full NTSB narrative
ACFT EXPERIENCED A TAIL ROTOR DRIVE SHAFT FAILURE DURING T/O FROM AN OFFSHORE PLATFORM. ACFT SPUN LEFT AND COMPLETED 6 TO 7 REVOLUTIONS PRIOR TO WATER CONTACT AS THE SINGLE PLT COULD NOT REACH THE THROTTLES TO REDUCE PWR TO IDLE. ACFT LANDED HARD AND THE RT FLOAT DEPLOYED ON TOUCHDOWN WHILE THE LEFT FLOAT DID NOT AND THE ACFT ROLLED LEFT. OCCUPANTS SWAM TO RIG FROM WHICH T/O HAD BEEN INITIATED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE FORWARD SHAFT (NO. 1 SEGMENT) HAD FAILED IN THE AREA OF THE AFT SPLINES NEAR THE MAIN GEARBOX OIL COOLING FAN CONNECTION. FAILURE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO FATIGUE DUE TO FRETTING CAUSED BY ABNORMAL VIBRATION LEVELS INDUCED BY THE OIL COOLING FAN BLADES. ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT FAN BLADES WOULD BECOME CONTAMINATED WITH DEPOSITS OF GREASE, OIL, AND SOOT CAUSING VIBRATION TO INCREASE FROM .6 IPS TO 4.0 IPS. NO PREVIOUS REQUIREMENT TO CLEAN THE FAN BLADES EXISTED AND THE VIBRATION WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DETECTABLE BY THE PLT OR PAX.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Aerospatiale AS-355F accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 May 1986 | Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 | Kameula, Hawaii, United States | Hemmeter Aviation, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Jun 1986 | Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 | Galveston, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jul 1986 | Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 | Morgan City, Louisiana, United States | Mobil Oil Corp. | No injuries | - |
| 4 Nov 1988 | Aerospatiale AS-355F-1 | W. Cameron 617 | - | Fatal | 4 |
| 4 Feb 1985 | Aerospatiale AS 355F-1 | Sabine Pass, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Aug 1985 | Aerospatiale AS-355F | Chamblee, Georgia, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |