Bell 222B N306CH

Summary

On 19 February 2006 at about 08:00 local time, a Bell 222B registered N306CH was involved in an accident near Gulf of Mexico, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 February 2006 at 08:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Gulf of Mexico, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Bell 222B

Registration

N306CH

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Gulf of Mexico

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DFW06LA072

2 people had minor injuries.

The flight crew's failure to maintain control of the helicopter, and the crew's diverted attention to secondary tasks while preparing for the night landing. A contributing factor was the dark night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 11,308-hour airline transport pilot and copilot were preparing to land on a brightly lit ship, at night with haze, with a 25-knot wind. With the autopilot engaged, the pilot turned on the landing light, set the parking brake, and extended the landing gear. During the transition, the pilot's attention was turned inside the helicopter's flightdeck to prepare for the ship landing. The copilot was busy looking for paperwork and preparing to assist the ship's crew once on deck. The pilot disengaged the autopilot system and pressed the SAS/ATT (Stability Augmentation System/Attitude Retention System) button to change from attitude mode to SAS mode, when he looked up just in time to see the water. The helicopter impacted the water, and sank in approximately 200 feet of water. The helicopter was not recovered. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.