OIL RIG SHUTTLE HELICOPTER PENETRATED THE ADIZ AT EXCESSIVE SPEED AND WAS INTERCEPTED BY NORAD FGT'S.

Date: 1988-11 · Aircraft: Helicopter

Anomalies: conflict-airborne-conflict

Synopsis

OIL RIG SHUTTLE HELICOPTER PENETRATED THE ADIZ AT EXCESSIVE SPEED AND WAS INTERCEPTED BY NORAD FGT'S.

Narrative

WHILE IN LEVEL CRUISE FLT INBND ON LLA 215 DEG R 2 E FGT ACFT APPEARED TO BE TEXAS ANG; OVERTOOK OUR ACFT ON LEFT SIDE AT A RANGE OF ABOUT 100' LAT AND 15-20' BELOW. FIRST ACFT WAS NOT SEEN UNTIL IT WAS IN FRONT OF US. SECOND ACFT WAS OBSERVED MUCH CLOSER; FGT SPD WAS 30-50 KTS FASTER; MARKING ON FGT LOOKED LIKE TX FLAG WITHIN UNIT MARKINGS; TAIL #'S COULD NOT BE READ BECAUSE OF LOW CONTRAST PAINT. DURING THIS TIME WE NOTED OUR TRANSPONDER WAS REPLYING TO MULTIPLE INTERROGATIONS. I AM SURE WE WERE ON ZHU RADAR; AND THE FGT WERE VECTORED TO US. REQUEST REVIEW OF PROCS AND ENFORCEMENT OF FAR 91.65 A AND B. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: RPTR STATED THAT DURING THIS FLT THEY HAD PENETRATED THE ADIZ. NORMALLY; THESE SHUTTLE FLTS TO THE OIL RIGS IN THE GULF AND ARE INTERCEPTED BY THE MIL BECAUSE THEY ARE OPERATED BELOW 10000' AND UNDER 180 KTS. ON THIS OCCASION; THE FLT WAS AT 9500'; BUT A VERY STRONG S WIND CAUSED THEIR GND SPD TO BE NEAR 200 KTS. FOR THIS REASON; THEY DEDUCED THAT OCEAN SURVEILLANCE HAD OBSERVED THEIR HIGH RATE OF SPD AND HAD SENT THE 2 FGT'S TO INVESTIGATE.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.