Bell 206L-4 N7077B

Summary

On 23 March 2002 at about 13:57 local time, a Bell 206L-4 registered N7077B was involved in an accident near Eugene Isld 188, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 March 2002 at 13:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Eugene Isld 188, United States

Coordinates

28.7528, -91.4061

Aircraft

Bell 206L-4

Registration

N7077B

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Eugene Island → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02FA099

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during takeoff. A contributing factor was the pilot's inadequate preflight which resulted in his failure to remove the left front tie down.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was repositioning the helicopter from an offshore helideck in order to allow another helicopter to land at the platform and refuel. As the helicopter lifted off of the deck, the pilot lost control. The helicopter impacted the safety fence and fell 161 feet to the water and sank. A pilot who had landed prior to the accident, reported that he had observed the rear and right front tie down straps of the accident aircraft were removed; however, he did not notice if the left front tie down was still attached to the helicopter. An examination of the offshore oil pumping station revealed that the right front and rear tie down straps were in a metal storage basket located on the edge of the helideck. The left front tie down strap was fully extended and still attached to its tie down point, and laying randomly on the helideck and the damaged safety fence. The left forward tie down fitting that is normally attached to the bottom of the fuselage underneath the copilot's seat was missing and never found. The three insert fittings of this tie down were pulled out of the honeycomb panel in a manner consistent with a relatively vertical pull. The examination of the tie down strap did not reveal any definitive damage that would indicate that it was subjected to overload. The hydraulic pump, when tested, produced correct pressure and fluid flow. The hydraulic switch in the cockpit was found in the "ON" position. Flight control continuity was established. The helicopter was at a gross weight of 3,866 pounds, and its center-of-gravity (CG) was within the allowable CG limits

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.