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| Date: | Sunday 5 January 2014 |
| Time: | 10:00 |
| Type: |  Bell 430 |
| Owner/operator: | Chevron USA Inc |
| Registration: | N430CT |
| MSN: | 49089 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 11122 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce 250-C40B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | West Delta 109, Gulf of Mexico -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | MP313 |
| West Delta 109 | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that she was making a normal approach to the oil platform. Both cranes were shut down on the oil platform, and she received a green deck for landing. The helicopter was over the landing circle when she turned the helicopter’s tail and felt a severe shudder. She immediately landed and shut down the helicopter. The examination of the helicopter and landing platform revealed that the tail rotor blades had struck a handrail on the east crane davit, which resulted in substantial damage to the tail rotor gearbox and drivetrain.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain tail rotor clearance from a handrail on a crane davit on an oil platform during landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N430CT
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Mar-2014 03:02 | Geno | Added |
| 26-Sep-2014 19:56 | Aerossurance | Updated [Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 27-Sep-2016 12:50 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:28 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 29-Nov-2017 13:21 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
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