N974RH – BELL 230 – 2011-03-17 NTSB Accident Report

On March 17, 2011, a Bell 230 (N974RH) was involved in an incident near Gulf of Mexico, LA. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from the safety skirting during the repositioning landing.

The pilot was asked to reposition the helicopter on the helideck to make room for a helicopter that was coming in to land. He performed a walk around inspection of the area, and was aware of the location and height of the helideck safety skirting. During the repositioning landing, the pilot felt a high frequency vibration and the helicopter began to shudder. After the accident, a piece of tail rotor skin was found lodged in the skirting. The tailrotor had impacted the skirting. Substantial damage occurred to the helicopter's tailboom. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the helicopter in reference to the accident flight.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN11CA232. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N974RH.