Sikorsky S-76B N76UT

Summary

On 12 October 2005 at about 01:45 local time, a Sikorsky S-76B registered N76UT was involved in an accident near New York City, New York, United States. 2 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

12 October 2005 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

New York City, New York, United States

Coordinates

40.7544, -74.0069

Aircraft

Sikorsky S-76B

Registration

N76UT

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

New York City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC06CA009

Nobody was injured.

The pilot flying's failure to maintain adequate aft hover clearance from a fence, and the pilot in command's delayed remedial action. A factor was the dark night lighting conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After night refueling at a riverside heliport, the helicopter was being repositioned to another spot to await passengers. The pilot in command was in the left seat, and the pilot flying was in the right seat. The pilot flying lifted the helicopter into a hover, facing west, toward the river. The pilot in command cleared the area left and right, and the pilot flying moved the helicopter slowly to the right. As the helicopter passed a helipad that jutted into the river, the pilot in command had difficulty judging "how far forward or back we were" since there were "no lateral position lines painted on the helipad deck to judge...position." As a sea wall came into view, he realized that the helicopter was drifting backwards, and stated "don't come back any further." Immediately afterwards, he felt a vibration, then took over the controls and landed the helicopter. A postflight inspection revealed that the tail rotor had impacted a fence. The pilot flying reported environmental conditions as "dark, drizzling rain, northerly winds 8-10 knots, [and an] unusually high water level of the...river."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.