Bell 206L crash near Saint Thomas Airport, Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands

The pilot autorotated onto the water at about 14:30 after a loss of power while transitioning from forward flight to a hover. The emergency floats were armed but he was unable to deploy them: the electrical wires activating the discharge agent separated on impact, leaving the system inoperable. The pilot and three passengers evacuated and the helicopter sank. The compressor section of the engine had suffered a contained failure, and a metallurgical examination could not determine what caused it. There was no evidence of foreign object ingestion, of failure of the number 1, 2 or 2.5 bearings, of blade rubbing against the compressor case, or of axial movement of the rotor assembly. The operator stated that company personnel were not carrying out the salt water contamination removal procedure recommended by the engine manufacturer. Injuries were not reported. NTSB report MIA89LA024.