Helo Ditches On Way To Offshore Oil Rig

Little is known yet about what brougt down a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter flying for beleagured operator PHI this weekend.

The S-76 was flying over the Gulf of Mexico Sunday morning bound for an oil rig near the Eugene Islands, when the copter was forced to ditch in the water. Both the pilot and first officer suffered only minor injuries in the accident; there were no other passengers onboard.

The National Transportation and Safety Board is investigating.

PHI -- one of the largest helicopter transport companies in the country, servicing both the oil and gas and air medical industries -- has been embroiled in a bitter labor dispute for over a month, with most of its pilots walking the picket line over an expired contract.

That has left many of the company's helicopters on the ground, and not in the air.

As Aero-News reported, the situation reached the point several weeks ago it was rumored PHI was offering $1,000 a day to pilots qualified on the twelve-passenger, all-electric S-76.

**   Report created 10/23/2006   Record 7
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IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 22342        Make/Model: S76       Description: S-76, H-76, AUH-76, SPIRIT, EAGLE (HE-24
  Date: 10/22/2006     Time: 1230

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Minor     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
  City: EUGENE ISLAND   State: LA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N22342, A SIKORSKY S-76A ROTORCRAFT, WHILE ON A  REPOSITIONING FLIGHT TO
  OFFSHORE PLATFORM, CRASHED INTO THE WATER AND SANK, THE TWO PERSONS ON
  BOARD SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES, EUGENE ISLAND, LA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   2     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   2     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  Departed: AMELIA, LA                  Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination: EUGENE ISLAND, LA        Flt Plan: VFR          Wx Briefing: 
  Last Radio Cont: 
  Last Clearance: 

  FAA FSDO: BATON ROUGE, LA  (SW03)               Entry date: 10/23/2006

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.phihelico.com