Texas Helicopter OH-13E/M74 accident near Port Allen, Louisiana, September 3, 1986
On September 3, 1986 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Texas Helicopter OH-13E/M74, registered N38092, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Allen, Louisiana. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1986 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Port Allen, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Texas Helicopter OH-13E/M74
- Registration
- N38092 · registry record · serial 77-004
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE HELICOPTER EXPERIENCED PARTIAL POWER LOSS AND DESCENDED TO GROUND. IT SPRAY BOOMS BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE SOY BEANS. THE HELICOPTER STARTED TO NOSE OVER, THEN ROLLED ONTO ITS RIGHT SIDE AND CAME TO REST. REASON FOR THE PARTIAL POWER LOSS IS UNDETERMINED.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,236 hours in all; 3,668 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: None (expired)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,440 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 15, 1986; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,350 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming VO-435 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Port Allen LA at 7:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from BTR, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.