Eurocopter AS350D accident near Sea Bright, New Jersey, May 3, 1995
On May 3, 1995 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Eurocopter AS350D (helicopter), registered N900PH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sea Bright, New Jersey. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the position 19 engine bearing, which resulted in shifting of the accessory gear drive, disengagement of the fuel pump, fuel starvation, and loss of engine power.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 3, 1995 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Sea Bright, New Jersey
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Eurocopter AS350D · all AS350Ds on the register
- Registration
- N900PH · registry record · serial 1428
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At 1000 feet mean sea level, the helicopter's engine lost total power. The pilot entered autorotation, and deployed the floats in preparation for a water landing. During the flare, the tailrotor entered the water and separated from the tailboom. An engine teardown revealed that the inner race of the position 19 bearing, which supported the high speed power gearshaft, failed due to fatigue. Subsequently, the #1 and #2 (accessory) gears disengaged. These gears provided drive to the gas generator accessories, which included the fuel pump/control assemblies. With the gears disengaged, there was no drive to the fuel pump, rendering it incapable of delivering fuel to the fuel control.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 3,300 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,819 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 6, 1995; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming LTS-101-600A2 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 6N5 New York City NY at 4:45 pm
- Destination: Keansburg NJ
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 NYC95LA099.