N5740L

On January 21, 2003, at 1650 central standard time, a Bell 206L-1 helicopter, N5740L, was substantially damaged when it landed hard during a precautionary landing following an encounter with adverse weather near Oak Grove, Louisiana. The helicopter was owned and operated by Air Logistics LLC of New Iberia, Louisiana. The commercial pilot and four passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. The flight originated at East Cameron 89, Gulf of Mexico, at 1630, and was en route to the Creole Heliport (15LA) located 7 miles east of Oak Grove.

The pilot reported that after encountering advection fog and restricted visibility, he continued towards the beach to land. He began to descend and decelerate through the fog as he was looking for a place to land. He realized he had developed forward movement, leveled the rotor blades, and settled to arrest the descent.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, who responded to the accident site, the pilot made a right descending turn to the landing area and entered fog at approximately 250 feet. He leveled out the helicopter and made a 100 to 200 feet per minute descent. Subsequently, he lost visual cues for directional stabilized hover and made a hard landing.

Examination of the aircraft by the FAA Inspector revealed that the aft cross tube was bent, and the tailboom was separated.

The weather at the time of the accident, reported winds from 180 degrees at 9 knots, 1/4 mile visibility, obscured clouds with fog, and an altimeter setting of 29.98 inches of Mercury. The temperature and dew point were both 59 degrees Fahrenheit.