Sikorsky S76A++ N579EH

Summary

On 23 March 2004 at about 00:01 local time, a Sikorsky S76A++ registered N579EH, operated by ERA Aviation, Inc., was involved in an accident near Gulf of Mexico, United States. 10 people were on board and 10 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 March 2004 at 00:01

Classification

Accident

Location

Gulf of Mexico, United States

Nearest airport

Galveston - Shoals (GLS)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Sikorsky S76A++

Registration

N579EH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

ERA Aviation, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Galveston → AC738

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

DCA04MA030

10 people died.

the flight crew's failure to identify and arrest the helicopter's descent for undetermined reasons, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board's full report is avialable at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-06/02. On March 23, 2004, about 1918:34 central standard time, an Era Aviation Sikorsky S-76A++ helicopter, N579EH, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico about 70 nautical miles south-southeast of Scholes International Airport (GLS), Galveston, Texas. The helicopter was transporting eight oil service personnel to the Transocean, Inc., drilling ship Discoverer Spirit, which was en route to a location about 180 miles south-southeast of GLS. The captain, copilot, and eight passengers aboard the helicopter were killed, and the helicopter was destroyed by impact forces. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on a visual flight rules flight plan. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.