ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 30510
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| Date: | Wednesday 9 June 1999 |
| Time: | 15:35 |
| Type: |  Bell 412 |
| Owner/operator: | PHI |
| Registration: | N3893S |
| MSN: | 33022 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 12682 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PT6T-3B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Eugene Island 313, Gulf of Mexico -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | Garden Bank 172 |
| Morgan City, LA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
One of the tail rotor blades separated from the helicopter during cruise flight as a result of a fatigue crack. The pilots reported hearing a 'loud bang,' and the helicopter 'immediately and violently tucked down and left then rolled inverted and [was] spinning to the right.' The flying pilot righted the helicopter, and the non-flying pilot inflated the emergency floats prior to impacting the ocean. The outboard section of one of the tail rotor blades (which one could not be determined) was found and examined. A fatigue crack initiated in the spar in an 'area of round-bottomed corrosion pits 0.001 inch deep.' The two tail rotor blades installed on the helicopter had accumulated 4,644 and 4,913 hours, respectively. The tail rotor blades are life limited at 5,000 hours.
Probable Cause: The separation of a section of the tail rotor blade, and subsequent separation of the tail rotor system, as a result of fatigue cracking due to corrosion in the tail rotor blade spar.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001212X18996&key=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 13-Mar-2009 11:59 | harro | Updated |
| 06-Nov-2013 16:30 | TB | Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Dec-2017 08:27 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
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