Bell 206B N222LM

Summary

On 1 December 2000 at about 22:19 local time, a Bell 206B registered N222LM was involved in an accident near Rockport, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 December 2000 at 22:19

Classification

Accident

Location

Rockport, Texas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bell 206B

Registration

N222LM

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Matagorda 603 → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW01LA036

Nobody was injured.

the loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the fatigue fracture of the compressor coupling adapter. A contributing factor was the high sea condition existing for the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter was returning to shore from an oil platform. The pilot had just made a "5 mile advisory call" announcing his intention to land at his destination when the engine chip light illuminated; this was followed by an immediate loss of engine power. The pilot initiated an autorotation, inflated the floats and made a mayday call. During the descent, he "had full [aircraft] control to include tail rotor authority." During landing, the tail rotor blades entered the water resulting in sudden stoppage of the tail rotor, which twisted the tail rotor drive shaft apart. Following the landing, the helicopter remained upright, and the pilot exited the helicopter after the main rotor blades came to a stop due to the "waves and wind." After he moved away from the helicopter, it rolled over. The pilot reported that the wind was from 045 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 25 knots. An examination of the turbine engine revealed that the N1 gas producer would not turn. Disassembly of the engine revealed that the compressor coupling adapter was fractured. Metallurgical examination indicated that the compressor coupling adapter had failed due to fatigue initiating from fretting at the outer surface where it contacted the impeller. The source of the fretting could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.