Bell 430 N430CM
4 August 2010 · Venice, Louisiana, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 4 August 2010 at about 11:45 local time, a Bell 430 registered N430CM, operated by Chevron USA Inc, was involved in an incident near Venice, Louisiana, United States. 8 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 11:45
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- Venice, Louisiana, United States
- Coordinates
- 29.2709, -89.3504
- Aircraft
- Bell 430
- Registration
- N430CM
- Category
- Helicopter
- Operator
- Chevron USA Inc
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Other Work Use
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Venice → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Minor
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- ENG10IA045
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Probable cause
The fracture of the collective servo actuator piston rod resulting from stress corrosion cracking.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
On August 4, 2010, at 0645 central daylight time, a Bell Helicopter Textron 430 was on the ground at ground idle power conducting the engine start checklist when the collective went to the full up position. There were no injuries among the passengers and crew. Further inspection of the aircraft revealed that the main rotor collective servoactuator piston rod had fractured. No other airframe damage was noted. The collective servo actuator was examined in the Bell Helicopter Textron’s Field Investigations Laboratory. According to Bell Helicopter Textron, the servo actuator piston rod was found to be fractured as a result of stress corrosion cracking. In response to this incident, Bell Helicopter Textron issued a number of alert service bulletins to perform a one time inspection of the servo actuator piston rod prior to further flight. This service bulletin only applied to servo actuators manufactured by Woodward HRT. Since this same type of servo actuator was also used on other Bell Helicopter Textron helicopters, additional alert service bulletins were issued. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) incorporated these service bulletins’ recommended actions (with some minor revisions) in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive. The FAA’s emergency AD followed the issuance of an AD by Transport Canada.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 430 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 2009 | Bell 430 | Kurnoon, India | Government of Andhra Pradesh Gad (Poll "C") | Fatal | 5 |
| 21 Dec 2014 | Bell 430 | Miami Gardens, Florida, United States | Southern Aircraft Services Inc | No injuries | - |
| 5 Jan 2014 | Bell 430 | West Delta 109, United States | Chevron U S A Inc | No injuries | - |
| 11 Jul 2005 | Bell 430 | Gulf of Mexico, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Apr 2015 | Bell 430 | Aydin, Turkey | Zorlu Air Havacilik A.S. | Minor injuries | - |
| 6 Oct 2015 | Bell 430 | Xalapa, Mexico | Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz | Fatal | 2 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Dec 2010 | Cessna 182C | Crowley, Louisiana, United States | - | Fatal | 3 |
| 22 Jul 2010 | Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B | Alexandria, Louisiana, United States | Vincent Flying Service | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jul 2010 | Cessna 180 | Davant, Louisiana, United States | Southern Aviation LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 27 Aug 2010 | Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B | Basile, Louisiana, United States | Kinder Ag Service | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jul 2010 | Bell 206 | Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, United States | Rotorcraft Leasing Co LLC | No injuries | - |
| 31 Aug 2010 | Cessna 210 | Houma, Louisiana, United States | Black Star Aviation LLC | Minor injuries | - |