MBB BO-105 CBS-4 N299EH

Summary

On 10 October 1996 at about 09:47 local time, a MBB BO-105 CBS-4 registered N299EH, operated by ERA, Gulf Coast Division, was involved in an accident near Cameron, Louisiana, 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

10 October 1996 at 09:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Cameron, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

MBB BO-105 CBS-4

Registration

N299EH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

ERA, Gulf Coast Division

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Lake Charles

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

FTW97FA014

1 person died.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain for undetermined reasons. Contributing factors were the dark night and pilot fatigue.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine helicopter departed a field base during the early morning into the dark night to reposition the aircraft to a full service facility for maintenance. No radio/distress calls were received from the helicopter after the pilot called in his flight plan. The wreckage was found severely fragmented along a 300-foot long energy path located in coastal marshland approximately 4 nautical miles north of the field base. Detailed examination of the aircraft, engines, and drive components did not reveal pre-impact anomalies that would have contributed to the accident, and there was no evidence of an in-flight breakup or in-flight collision with an object. The pilot had over 11,200 hours of helicopter time, of which 316 were at night and 446 were under actual or simulated instrument conditions. The flight was conducted during the 11th and 12th hours of the pilot's 12-hour duty shift, which was his first night back from a two-week vacation during which he had been sleeping nights.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.