Bell Helicopter 206L-1 accident near Houma, Louisiana, January 16, 1982
On January 16, 1982 at about 7:50 pm local time, a Bell Helicopter 206L-1, registered N1081H, was destroyed in an accident near Houma, Louisiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 16, 1982 · about 7:50 pm local time
- Place
- Houma, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Bell Helicopter 206L-1 · all 206L-1s on the register
- Registration
- N1081H · registry record · serial 45406
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS ENROUTE TO THE SHIP SHOAL AREA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. ANOTHER PLT WHO DEPARTED EARLIER ADVISED THE PLT THAT HE & ANOTHER ACFT HAD TURNED AROUND & WAS RETURNING AFTER ENCOUNTERING A LOW CEILING & REDUCED VISIBILITY. THE SURVIVING PAX STATED THAT THE ACFT DEPARTED SOUTHWEST CLIMBING TO ABOUT 400 FT. AS THE ACFT GOT CLOSER TO THE EDGE OF THE GULF HE COULD SEE THICKER HAZE, FOGGY LAND & THE ACFT DROPPED DOWN TO ABOUT 200 FT. IT WOULD BE CLEAR THEN OBSCURED & HE COULD NOT SEE THE GROUND. 45 SEC TO 1 MIN LATER HE COULD ONLY SEE WHITE OUT OF THE COCKPIT. NEXT HE WAS TUMBLING IN THE WATER.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW82FA041.