NTSB CAROL · Event
Event DCA90MA010
Registry · N127JL
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
EUROCOPTER DEUTSCHLAND GMBH EC 135 P2+
Year of manufacture
2011
TCDS
H88EU · AIRBUS HELICOPTERS DEUTSCHLAND GMBH (AHD)
Engine
P&W CANADA PW206B2 (447 hp)
Seats / Engines
7 seats · 2 engines
Last airworthiness date
20110908
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A06E86
Registrant of record
ERA HELICOPTERS LLC
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED FOR AN UNDETERMINED REASON, DURING AN OVERWATER FLIGHT ON A DARK (MOONLESS) NIGHT UNDER A CLOUD LAYER. A SIGMET WAS IN EFFECT WARNING OF MODERATE TO OCCASIONALLY SEVERE TURBULENCE BELOW 6000 FEET AND THE POTENTIAL OF LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR.
Factual narrative
ON DARK (MOONLESS) NGT, NONSCHED/DOMESTIC/PSGR FLT DEPD BLOCK ISLAND FOR WESTERLY, RI, WITH 7 PAX & 2 DOGS. IT CRASHED ALONG RTE IN BLOCK ISLAND SOUND, 3 TO 5 MI NW OF ISLAND (AN AREA LACKING VIS REF ON SFC). LTR, MAIN WRECKAGE WAS FND IN 130' OF WTR. ADNL WRECKAGE & BODIES OF PLT, 3 PAX & 2 DOGS WERE FND. ACFT WAS BADLY DMGD DRG IMPACT (L WING SEPD OTBD OF L ENG, EXTSV DMG TO FWD PART OF ACFT), BUT NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND. COML/INST RATED PLT WAS PART TIME EMPLOYEE. HE WAS ON MEDICATION FOR LYME DISEASE, BUT NO PHYSIOLOGICAL PRBLM WAS FND THAT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN ACDNT. AT APRX 1720 EST, THERE WAS A PIREP OF A BKN CLD LAYER AT 10,000'. ANOTHER PLT, WHO WAS FLYING AT ABT THE SAME TIME, RPRTD SCT CLDS ABV 10,000', OVR 10 MI VIS, WND WESTERLY AT 15 TO 25 MPH & LGT TO MOD TURBC. SIGMET (GOLF 4) WARNED OF MOD OCNL SEV TURBC BLO 6000' & POTENTIAL OF LOW LVL WND SHEAR. ACDNT OCCURRED ALONG BIRD MIGRATORY RTE. THERE HAD BEEN NO RECENT FAA INSPN OF BASE, RAMP, COCKPIT (EN RTE CHECK), GND/FLT TRNG PROGRAM, CREW/DISPATCH/TRIP RECORD. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_DCA90MA010.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (wind shear, turbulence). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR)
An Examination of Aviation Accidents Associated with Turbulence, Wind Shear and Thunderstorm
The focal point of the study reported here was the definition and examination of turbulence, wind shear and thunderstorm in relation to aviation accidents.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Convectively Induced Turbulence Encountered During NASA's Fall-2000 Flight Experiments
Aircraft encounters with atmospheric turbulence are a leading cause of in-flight injuries aboard commercial airliners and cost the airlines millions of dollars each year.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Technical Memorandum (TM)
Some aspects of wind shear in the upper atmosphere
Hydrodynamic turbulence and wind shear in upper atmosphere
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2019 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Low Level Turbulence Detection For Airports
Abstract—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2018 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Evaluating the Effect of Turbulence on Aircraft During Landing and Take-Off Phases
—— Low level wind shear and turbulence present a serious safety risk to aircraft during the approach, landing and take-off phases.
- arXiv 2026 · arXiv preprint
Direct Numerical Simulations of Ice-Ocean Boundary Turbulence
Turbulent heat and freshwater transport at ice-ocean interfaces controls glacier and iceberg melt rates, yet the underlying physics remains poorly constrained.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗