Aerospatiale 350D N5778W
8 March 1990 · Miami, Florida, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 8 March 1990 at about 16:16 local time, a Aerospatiale 350D registered N5778W, operated by International Helicopter Corp., was involved in an accident near Miami, Florida, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 16:16
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Miami, Florida, United States
- Coordinates
- 26.0996, -80.1193
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale 350D
- Registration
- N5778W
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- International Helicopter Corp.
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Fisher Island → Cat Cay, Bahamas
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MIA90FA081
People
2 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
FATIGUE FAILURE OF AN ENGINE TURBINE BLADE, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF POWER. ROUGH OCEAN WATER IN THE EMERGENCY LANDING AREA WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE HELICOPTER WAS IN CRUISE FLT OVR THE OCEAN, WHEN THE PLT HEARD A LOUD NOISE & NOTED A LOSS OF ENG POWER. HE ENTERED AN AUTOROTATION & TOLD THE PSGRS TO PUT ON THEIR LIFE JACKETS. AT ABT 100' ABV THE WATER, HE DEPLOYED THE EMERG FLOATS, THEN SUCCESSFULLY LANDED IN THE OCEAN ABOUT 3 MI FROM SHORE. AFTER LNDG, A WAVE HIT THE HELICOPTER & IT ROLLED OVR. THE PLT & PSGRS GOT ONTO THE BELLY OF THE HELICOPTER, THEN THE PLT DOVE UNDER THE WATER & RETRIEVED THE ELT. HOWEVER, AFTER HE ACTIVATED THE ELT, ANOTHER WAVE HIT & THE PLT DROPPED IT AS HE REACHED TO HELP A PSGR. ONE PSGR EXPIRED ABT 8 HRS LATER & THE OTR PSGR EXPIRED ABT 15 HRS AFTER THE ACDNT. BOTH DIED FM DROWNING. THE ACDNT OCCURRED AT ABT 1115 EST; THE COAST GUARD WAS NOTIFIED OF THE SITUATION AT 1530 EST. THE PLT WAS RESCUED AT 0430 EST THE NEXT DAY. A SUBSEQUENT EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THAT A POWER TURBINE BLADE HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE, WHICH RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF ENG POWER.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Aerospatiale 350 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 1991 | Aerospatiale 350 B1 | Walton, Oregon, United States | Bohemia Inc. | Fatal | 3 |
| 4 Oct 1989 | Aerospatiale 350D | New Iberia, Louisiana, United States | Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 31 Jan 1986 | Aerospatiale 350-B | Las Piedras | - | No injuries | - |
| 31 Jul 1982 | Aerospatiale 350D | Near Winter Par, Colorado, United States | Jerry Lynn Noland | No injuries | - |
| 13 May 2002 | Aerospatiale 350B | Gainesville, Georgia, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Jan 1990 | Lockheed L1329 | Miami, Florida, United States | Tokoph, David | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Dec 1990 | Cessna 172G | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Weeks, Milton D. | Serious injuries | - |
| 6 Jan 1990 | Piper PA-30 | Tallahassee, Florida, United States | Calley, Nicholas O. | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 Dec 1990 | Piper PA-28-151 | Jupiter, Florida, United States | Zimmerman, Barry L. | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jan 1990 | Piper J-3 | Clewiston, Florida, United States | Nesbitt, James K. | Fatal | 2 |
| 15 Dec 1990 | Beechcraft F33A | Lakeland, Florida, United States | Globe Aero Ltd. | No injuries | - |