Eurocopter EC120B N162TA

Summary

On 8 July 2003 at about 16:47 local time, a Eurocopter EC120B registered N162TA, operated by Texair Helicopters Inc, was involved in an accident near Ship Shoal 80, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2003 at 16:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Ship Shoal 80, United States

Coordinates

28.9175, -91.3003

Aircraft

Eurocopter EC120B

Registration

N162TA

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Texair Helicopters Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Other Work Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vm-22 → Ship Shoal 80

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA186

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with a parked/stationary aircraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that upon arriving at Ship Shoal 80 (SS-80) platform located in the Gulf of Mexico, he performed a fly-by and then proceeded to circle the platform to the right, so one of the passengers could take aerial photographs of another helicopter on the helipad. The pilot further reported that he setup for an approach from the north of the platform and came to a hover 4 to 5 feet above the helicopter-deck to see if there was enough room to land. After accessing the situation, he started to "slide to the left" and ascend. Subsequently, he "heard and felt a bang from the rear of the aircraft, followed by the low rotor rpm horn." Continuing his "slide to the left" to move away from the platform, he lowered the nose to gain forward airspeed. During the descent, he informed the passengers that they were going down and deployed the emergency floats. The pilot stated that the landing "was soft onto the water, and was stable upon touchdown." After shutdown of the helicopter, he initiated an evacuation onto an inflatable life raft. Examination of the helicopter after the accident revealed that the tips of all three main rotor blades were damaged. Further examination of the blade tips and the platform obstructions revealed that the main rotor tip path plane appeared to have contacted the main rotor blade tie-down sock of a parked/stationary helicopter that was in the proximity to where the accident helicopter was hovering.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.