Incident Overview
On an unspecified date, two Bell helicopters collided in midair approximately 3 nautical miles west of Intracoastal City, Louisiana. The aircraft involved were N115AL, a Bell 206B, and N2773A, a Bell 206L-1.
Flight Paths
N2773A was in cruise flight, transiting through the Intracoastal City traffic advisory area from northeast to southwest. N115AL had departed Intracoastal City westbound. Radar data indicated that the angle between the flight paths was about 60 degrees.
Pilot Account
The pilot of N115AL reported that he had just leveled out at 700 feet above ground level (agl) when he saw N2773A to his right at a 'slightly' lower altitude and banked hard left.
Collision and Aftermath
A witness and physical evidence indicated that the main rotor blades of N115AL struck the tail rotor of N2773A. N2773A was not observed to take evasive action. Subsequently, N2773A impacted the ground in an uncontrolled descent, and N115AL made a forced landing in a slough and sank.
Communications
Prior to departure, the pilot of N115AL communicated his intentions on the local traffic advisory frequency. There were no radio communications from N2773A on the advisory frequency, and the operator of N2773A did not include the use of traffic advisory services as a company standard operating procedure in its operations manual.