GOM - yet another ditching
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NTSB Identification: CEN12CA191
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, March 12, 2012 in Southern Timbalier 52CA, GM
Aircraft: BELL 206L-3, registration: N104LP
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The helicopter was tied down overnight on the helideck of an offshore oil platform. The pilot stated the helicopter preflight had been completed hours prior to the first flight. During the walk-around prior to the first flight of the day, he overlooked the right rear tie-down which was one of four connected to the fuselage. The pilot attempted to takeoff with the tie-down still attached to the helicopter which resulted in a dynamic rollover. The helicopter remained on the helideck. Substantial damage resulted to the tailboom and the right side of the helicopter.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, March 12, 2012 in Southern Timbalier 52CA, GM
Aircraft: BELL 206L-3, registration: N104LP
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
The helicopter was tied down overnight on the helideck of an offshore oil platform. The pilot stated the helicopter preflight had been completed hours prior to the first flight. During the walk-around prior to the first flight of the day, he overlooked the right rear tie-down which was one of four connected to the fuselage. The pilot attempted to takeoff with the tie-down still attached to the helicopter which resulted in a dynamic rollover. The helicopter remained on the helideck. Substantial damage resulted to the tailboom and the right side of the helicopter.
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Helicopter down near Vermilion Bay; no injuries
Helicopter down near Vermilion Bay; no injuries | KATC.com | Acadiana-Lafayette, Louisiana
An S-76, according to the report.
This afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a downed helicopter about 82 nautical miles off Vermilion Bay in the vicinity of Vermilion Block 336. The Sikorsky S-76 was floating upside down, and the life raft had been deployed. According to the Coast Guard, the pilot said all people on the helicopter had been accounted for and no one required medical attention. Rowan Companies operates the helicopter. It's unknown what caused the helicopter to go down.
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maybe... engine failure !?*!?
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NTSB Identification: CEN12FA250
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, April 17, 2012 in Gulf of Mexico, LA
Aircraft: SIKORSKY S-76B, registration: N56RD
Injuries: 7 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On April 17, 2012, about 1155 central daylight time, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, N56RD, was substantially damaged after ditching near an off-shore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana. The pilot and six passengers were not injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by RDC Marine, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a business flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed at 1110 from Acadiana Regional Airport (ARA), New Iberia, Louisiana, and was destined for the drilling rig where the ditching occurred.
The pilot reported that he was just over the landing pad at an off-shore drilling rig when the helicopter had a sudden loss of power. To avoid a hard landing on the deck, he attempted to abort the landing, but was unable to regain fly-away speed. After an emergency landing to the water, the pilot attempted to water-taxi in 5-foot seas when the tail boom partially separated from the fuselage. A rescue vessel quickly responded and all seven persons successfully evacuated with no injuries.
The attempt to recover the helicopter was unsuccessful and it sank in 310 feet of water. When the wreckage is recovered, it will be transported to an on-shore secure location for examination.
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, April 17, 2012 in Gulf of Mexico, LA
Aircraft: SIKORSKY S-76B, registration: N56RD
Injuries: 7 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On April 17, 2012, about 1155 central daylight time, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, N56RD, was substantially damaged after ditching near an off-shore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana. The pilot and six passengers were not injured. The helicopter was registered to and operated by RDC Marine, Inc., under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91, as a business flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed at 1110 from Acadiana Regional Airport (ARA), New Iberia, Louisiana, and was destined for the drilling rig where the ditching occurred.
The pilot reported that he was just over the landing pad at an off-shore drilling rig when the helicopter had a sudden loss of power. To avoid a hard landing on the deck, he attempted to abort the landing, but was unable to regain fly-away speed. After an emergency landing to the water, the pilot attempted to water-taxi in 5-foot seas when the tail boom partially separated from the fuselage. A rescue vessel quickly responded and all seven persons successfully evacuated with no injuries.
The attempt to recover the helicopter was unsuccessful and it sank in 310 feet of water. When the wreckage is recovered, it will be transported to an on-shore secure location for examination.
OK - I'm amazed; no, we do not know the circumstances of this accident (was it an accident under the usual GOM criteria) but it appear to show an attempt at a flyaway from a position over the deck. Does this point to a lack of understanding (training) of the effects of power-loss.
Perhaps we need to restart the debate on offshore take-off and landing procedures.
.
Not being one to offer up conjecture on things i was not present at.....I cannot resist doing so on this one based upon the FAA report quoted by Mars.
Based upon my experience with some GOM pilots at other places in the World other than the GOM....I noticed there seemed to be quite a number of ways to arrive at a Rig Deck that had a potential for calamity if one or both of the engines died on a Twin.
One of the approaches I saw used was explained as being one where Inertia and Momentum would be traded for RPM....what I saw as flat, fast, with sudden decal and flop on the deck method. We usually only did one of those unless the other guy was happy to fly Solo in a Two Crew operation.
I somehow wonder if that might have been in vogue at RDC recently.
Also...one can ponder the image of a 76B with a Pilot (maybe two) and six passengers (even Bubba's with Bubba Baggage) having serious problems coping with a single engine landing on a Rig Deck provided the angle of the dangle being remotely acute.
After all....don't most GOM Pilots have an aversion to bathing in salt water? (Most seem to have such aversions from fresh soapy water too.)
Thus, I would have assumed a "hard landing" on the Rig Deck would beat the heck out of needing to take up the water taxi business.
The real question begged....is where the hell was he going to water taxi to...and for what reason? Surely, the coffee on the rig was better than the beach at Florbama....despite there being far fewer Double Breasted Bubbie Birds on the Rig than at the beach there in Florbama.
The transition from the Little Ship Table to the Big Ship Table must be a lot easier than in the past!
Based upon my experience with some GOM pilots at other places in the World other than the GOM....I noticed there seemed to be quite a number of ways to arrive at a Rig Deck that had a potential for calamity if one or both of the engines died on a Twin.
One of the approaches I saw used was explained as being one where Inertia and Momentum would be traded for RPM....what I saw as flat, fast, with sudden decal and flop on the deck method. We usually only did one of those unless the other guy was happy to fly Solo in a Two Crew operation.
I somehow wonder if that might have been in vogue at RDC recently.
Also...one can ponder the image of a 76B with a Pilot (maybe two) and six passengers (even Bubba's with Bubba Baggage) having serious problems coping with a single engine landing on a Rig Deck provided the angle of the dangle being remotely acute.
After all....don't most GOM Pilots have an aversion to bathing in salt water? (Most seem to have such aversions from fresh soapy water too.)
Thus, I would have assumed a "hard landing" on the Rig Deck would beat the heck out of needing to take up the water taxi business.
The real question begged....is where the hell was he going to water taxi to...and for what reason? Surely, the coffee on the rig was better than the beach at Florbama....despite there being far fewer Double Breasted Bubbie Birds on the Rig than at the beach there in Florbama.
The transition from the Little Ship Table to the Big Ship Table must be a lot easier than in the past!
.... pointless carriage of spare engine, wasting the payload, for whole life of aircraft?
Looking at the NTSB statement I would suggest that this was a pointless loss of aircraft due to the inappropriate actions of a pilot. Thankfully with no loss of life.
As stated by SASless, the aircraft would have had plenty of power margin to safely complete a landing on the deck, assuming the approach profile was flown correctly.
So this is an event that should have proven the benefits of two engines.
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So this is an event that should have proven the benefits of two engines.
I had the eye-opening experience of flying with GOM pilots recently and was staggered to see that they did not use any kind of profile that permitted a safe landing or single engine fly-away. They also avoided clouds like the plague. When I asked why the justification was 'payload'.
They seem to view the extra engine simply as an opportunity to lift more, not increase safety.
Last edited by Epiphany; 25th Apr 2012 at 18:39.
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@Mars: Yes, according to the FAA's website, that registration is indeed an S76B. Not many of them in the GOM because of the reduced range due to the fuel consumption of the P&W engines, but Rowan Drilling does operate some. It's a Part 91 operation, not for hire, unless things have changed recently.
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Helicopter falls off platform; all crew safe
A helicopter owned by Westwind Helicopters, Inc. landed upright in the Gulf of Mexico today.
Westwind Helicopters President Bob McCoy says, that the emergency flotation device on the helicopter was activated, allowing the helicopter to land safely in the water. McCoy says the crew on board evacuated the helicopter by activating a life raft. A utility boat nearby picked up the crew. McCoy says all crew members are reported to be okay.
According to the Coastguard, the helicopter landed on a platform and fell off the platform with six people on board.
A helicopter owned by Westwind Helicopters, Inc. landed upright in the Gulf of Mexico today.
Westwind Helicopters President Bob McCoy says, that the emergency flotation device on the helicopter was activated, allowing the helicopter to land safely in the water. McCoy says the crew on board evacuated the helicopter by activating a life raft. A utility boat nearby picked up the crew. McCoy says all crew members are reported to be okay.
According to the Coastguard, the helicopter landed on a platform and fell off the platform with six people on board.
Chief Bottle Washer
Here you are, Bob:
Well, it looks like fiishing may be good from there, provided they don't catch something too big
My favorite set-up offshore is 100lbs mono and a #7 hook.
Let it go to the bottom with an 8 oz weight and bring it back up a couple of feet.
Best bait is squid, or roughneck.
Wadd'ya think BB?
My favorite set-up offshore is 100lbs mono and a #7 hook.
Let it go to the bottom with an 8 oz weight and bring it back up a couple of feet.
Best bait is squid, or roughneck.
Wadd'ya think BB?
Gravity.
Have a great weekend.
Hopefully a report will be issued in due course.
Have a great weekend.
Hopefully a report will be issued in due course.