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| Date: | Sunday 18 February 2018 |
| Time: | 09:15 LT |
| Type: |  Sikorsky S-76C+ |
| Owner/operator: | Bristow US LLC |
| Registration: | N860AL |
| MSN: | 760527 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 9866 hours |
| Engine model: | SAFRAN Arriel 2S1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Acadiana Regional Airport (ARA), New Iberia, LA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | New Iberia, LA (ARA) |
| Offshore Installation, GOM | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot reported that, while the copilot was taxiing the wheel-equipped helicopter to the runway for departure, he saw a “bump” on the concrete. The copilot reported that he attempted to stop before the “bump,” which turned out to be a pothole, but the helicopter struck the pothole with the right main landing gear, which collapsed. The pilot and the copilot both reported that the taxi speed was less than 5 knots.
The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the internal fuselage structure.
The Director of Operations reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause: The helicopter’s striking of a pothole while taxiing, which resulted in the right main landing gear collapsing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://aerossurance.com/helicopters/s-76c-mlg-collapse
https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20180223X34238&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=CA
Location
Media:
OTD in 2018: An oil and gas #helicopter suffered an accident when it struck a pothole In Louisiana.https://t.co/2hz7LW74mE #flightsafety pic.twitter.com/pabrpBw4z4
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) February 18, 2019
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Jun-2018 07:39 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
| 16-Feb-2019 12:43 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Narrative, ] |
| 17-Feb-2019 12:35 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, ] |
| 18-Feb-2019 07:56 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code, ] |
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