What happened
On August 22, 2009, at 0506 UTC, an Agusta 109E helicopter, registration N906AH, was involved in an accident while landing on the Arabyia 4 barge in the Persian Gulf, near Ras Tanajib, Saudi Arabia. The flight departed from Ras Tanajib Airport (OETN) at 0456 under visual meteorological conditions with a visibility of 20 statute miles and winds from 130 degrees at 16 knots.
Upon touching down on the barge, the aircraft began to shake, causing the main rotor to make contact with the cabin and the tail boom. This contact resulted in a post-crash fire. The pilot successfully used the rotor brake to stop the main rotor and secured the engines. All 5 occupants (the pilot and 4 passengers) were not injured. Personnel on the barge were able to extinguish the fire.