Hughes 369D N1089N
26 June 1995 · Highland, California, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 26 June 1995 at about 17:20 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N1089N, operated by HSI Helicopters, Inc., was involved in an accident near Highland, California, United States. 4 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 3 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 17:20
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Highland, California, United States
- Coordinates
- 34.1304, -117.1500
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D
- Registration
- N1089N
- Category
- Helicopter
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- HSI Helicopters, Inc.
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- LAX95FA225
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Probable cause
the pilot's failure to verify the security of his passenger's cargo/personal belongings which departed the aircraft striking the tailrotor.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The helicopter pilot was operating in mountainous terrain with three doors removed. He was positioning survey personnel to remark survey sites. During departure from the mountainous terrain the pilot briefly noticed something in his skid mounted mirror. At that point, the pilot and the three passengers heard a loud 'whump' followed by a loss of tail rotor control. The pilot maneuvered the spinning helicopter over some power lines and onto a downward sloping ridgeline. The helicopter landed hard and rolled down the mountain about 100 to 150 feet. The tail rotor blades, along with half of the severed gear box were not recovered. The left rear seat passenger was missing a sweat jacket. An abundance of 12-inch reinforced marker tape was found at the accident site. Metallurgical analysis revealed that a high strain rate crack growth had occured as in a one-time overload on the tail rotor gearbox casting.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Hughes 369 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 1995 | Hughes 369HS | Orting, Washington, United States | Helicopter Specialty | Serious injuries | - |
| 9 Nov 1995 | Hughes 369D | Crystal, Michigan, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Dec 1995 | Hughes 369D | Feather Falls, California, United States | Air, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 29 Nov 1995 | Hughes 369D | Scotts Mills, Oregon, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 25 Mar 1995 | Hughes 369HS | Burnet, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Oct 1995 | Hughes 369HS | Hana, Hawaii, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Jun 1995 | Ed Bergreen KIS | San Leandro, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 23 Jun 1995 | Spreuer COZY | Oceanside, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 26 Jun 1995 | Cessna 182P | Susanville, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 28 Jun 1995 | Cessna 150M | Turlock, California, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Jun 1995 | Piper PA-28-181 | Palm Springs, California, United States | Alan L. Kaplan | No injuries | - |
| 24 Jun 1995 | Piper PA-34-200 | Avalon, California, United States | Aero Club | No injuries | - |