N162TA

On July 8, 2003, at 1147 central daylight time, a Eurocopter EC120B helicopter, N162TA, registered to General Electric Capital Corporation, of Addison, Texas, and operated by Texair Helicopters, Inc., of Houston, Texas, was substantially damaged following an in-flight collision with an object near Ship Shoal 80 (SS-80) platform located in the Gulf of Mexico. The commercial pilot and his two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 other work use flight. The flight originated from the Vermilion-22 platform located in the Gulf of Mexico, at 1030, and was destined for SS-80.

The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2) that upon arriving at SS-80, he performed a fly-by and then proceeded to circle the platform to the right, so one of the passengers could take aerial photographs of another helicopter on the helipad. The pilot further reported that he setup for an approach from the north of the platform and came to a hover 4 to 5 feet above the helicopter-deck to see if there was enough room to land. After accessing the situation, he started to "slide to the left" and ascend. Subsequently, he "heard and felt a bang from the rear of the aircraft, followed by the low rotor rpm horn." Continuing his "slide to the left" to move away from the platform, he lowered the nose to gain forward airspeed. During the descent, he informed the passengers that they were going down and deployed the emergency floats. The pilot stated that the landing "was soft onto the water, and was stable upon touchdown." After shutdown of the helicopter, he initiated an evacuation onto an inflatable life raft.

Examination of the helicopter by an FAA inspector revealed that the tips of all three main rotor blades were damaged. Further examination of the blade tips and the platform obstructions revealed that the main rotor tip path plane appeared to have contacted the main rotor blade tie-down sock of a parked/stationary AS-350-BA that was in the proximity to where the helicopter was hovering.