Bell 407-NO SERIES N311RL
28 June 2015 · South Timbalier 127, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 28 June 2015 at about 15:00 local time, a Bell 407-NO SERIES registered N311RL, operated by Rotorcraft Leasing Company L L C, was involved in an accident near South Timbalier 127, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- South Timbalier 127, United States
- Coordinates
- 28.6894, -90.3322
- Aircraft
- Bell 407-NO SERIES
- Registration
- N311RL
- Category
- Helicopter
- Year built
- 1996
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Rotorcraft Leasing Company L L C
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- South Timbalier 127 → Ss-189B
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN15LA288
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's lack of awareness of the severity of the gusting winds, which led to the helicopter being pushed off of the oil platform by a wind gust during engine start. Contributing to the accident was the unavailability of a nearby weather monitoring system.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The commercial pilot reported that he had landed the helicopter on the oil platform about 1 hour before the accident. He noted that the weather conditions were deteriorating west and north of the platform; he then decided to depart the platform, which did not have any weather monitoring systems installed. He had initiated the start sequence when a strong wind gust struck the platform and pushed the helicopter off of the raised helideck into the water. Witness reports corroborated the pilot's account, and two of the witnesses reported that the helicopter blades were turning but had not yet reached flight idle speed. If a weather monitoring system had been available, the pilot might have decided not to depart the platform given the gusting wind conditions.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Bell 407 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 2015 | Bell 407 | San Antonio, Texas, United States | Air Evac EMS, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 30 Oct 2015 | Bell 407 | Cameron, Louisiana, United States | PHI Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 24 Sep 2015 | Bell 407 | San Agustine Guatemala, Guatemala | - | No injuries | - |
| 22 Jul 2015 | Bell 407-NO SERIES | Tifalmin Village Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 May 2015 | Bell 407 | Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea | - | Unknown | - |
| 21 Nov 2015 | Bell 407 | Justo Romero, Nicaragua | Agricola Tornabe, S.A. de CV | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Jan 2015 | Piper PA 12 | Ridgefield, Washington, United States | Nicolai Jane G | No injuries | - |
| 3 Apr 2015 | Cessna 182R | Fort Myers, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jun 2015 | De Havilland DHC-3T | Skwentna, Alaska, United States | Alaska Air Taxi LLC | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jul 2015 | Christensen Steve WHEELER EXPRESS | Holland, Minnesota, United States | Christensen Steven J | Fatal | 3 |
| 5 Sep 2015 | Cessna TR182 | Midland, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 26 Dec 2015 | Boeing 737 76N | San Diego, California, United States | Southwest Airlines Co | Serious injuries | - |