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FTW89FA133

1989-07-11 · GALVESTON, Texas, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport GLS

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF BOTH PILOTS TO SEE-AND-AVOID THE OTHER AIRCRAFT (INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT).

Factual narrative

AN AEROSPATIALE AS-350-D, N3595B, WAS IN CRUISE FLT & WAS TRANSITING THRU THE EDGE OF A CONTROL ZONE (NO TWR OPERG) AT 1200 FT MSL FROM SW TO NE, AFTER THE PLT HAD COMMUNICATED HIS POSITION/DIRECTION OF FLT ON UNICOM FREQ. ALSO, THE PLT OF BELL 206L-1, N1082H, HAD COMMUNICATED HIS DEPARTURE DIRECTION FROM THE COASTAL ARPT, AS HE WAS CLIMBING TO HIS CRUISE ALTITUDE ON A SOUTHEASTERLY HEADING. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE TWO HELICOPTERS CONVERGED & A MIDAIR COLLISION OCCURRED APRX 1.5 MI FROM THE COASTLINE OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO. BOTH HELICOPTERS DESCENDED UNCONTROLLED INTO THE GULF WATERS. THE AEROSPATIALE PILOT'S VISION WAS RESTRICTED DOWNWARD & LEFT BY THE COCKPIT CONSOLE. THE BELL PILOT'S VISION WAS RESTRICTED UPWARD & TO THE RIGHT BY THE DOOR FRAME. THE ANGLE BETWEEN THE FLT PATHS WAS ABOUT 105 DEGS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_FTW89FA133.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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