ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 293369
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| Date: | Monday 11 July 2005 |
| Time: | 09:30 LT |
| Type: |  Bell 430 |
| Owner/operator: | Chevron Usa, Inc. |
| Registration: | N430CV |
| MSN: | 49072 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2000 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4884 hours |
| Engine model: | Rolls-Royce C-40B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Gulf of Mexico, -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Venice, LA |
| Gulf of Mexico | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The 17,291-hour commercial helicopter pilot was on short final approach to a helipad on an offshore platform when he heard and felt a "bump" in the flight controls, followed by vibrations in the tail rotor pedals and a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. The pilot immediately landed the helicopter and preformed a normal engine cool-down. Inspection of the helipad found no evidence of a tail rotor strike. A post-accident inspection of the studs, that hold the tail rotor gearbox to the tail boom, revealed signs of low-cycle bending fatigue. Additional inspection under a microscope of the studs, showed evidence of high loads during bending. The 90-degree tail rotor gear-box teeth, displayed typical wear pattern and did not show any sign of misalignment. One of the tail-rotor blades was heavily damaged and missing a portion of the outer blade. The remaining end of the blade was slightly torn and contained gray paint or material at the leading edge. The material was later examined, and found to contain a high concentration of zinc. Examination of paint chips in the impact area on the vertical fin showed no zinc in the paint. The object that impacted the tail rotor blade could not be identified or located during the course of the investigation.
Probable Cause: The helicopter's tail rotor blade's contact with an unknown object during landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DFW05LA180
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Oct-2022 19:16 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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