Hughes 369D N268ST

Summary

On 19 October 2005 at about 21:29 local time, a Hughes 369D registered N268ST, operated by Randall Bozarth, was involved in an accident near Avalon, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 October 2005 at 21:29

Classification

Accident

Location

Avalon, California, United States

Coordinates

33.4603, -118.5214

Aircraft

Hughes 369D

Registration

N268ST

Category

Helicopter

Engines

1

Operator

Randall Bozarth

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carlsbad → Avalon

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA015

2 people were seriously injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout and obstacle clearance altitude, which resulted in a collision with power lines. Factors in the accident were the position of the sun relative to the helicopter's flight path, which lessoned the visual acuity of the pilot, and, the pilot's intentional low altitude flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The helicopter collided with power lines during flight and descended into terrain. The pilot was flying with another helicopter on a local personal flight to an island. A witness was in his boat and had just picked up his mooring at an anchorage and reported seeing two helicopters arriving from the west. The first helicopter flew over his boat about 75 feet above the water. The helicopter continued toward the land and began climbing because there were cliffs directly off of the beach. The helicopter continued in its climb and then impacted the power lines. The witness noted that the pilot would have had difficulty in seeing the power lines due to the position of the sun. Prior to the impact, there was no noticeable change in the sound of the helicopter and it appeared to be under power and full control of the pilot. Examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions of either the airframe or engine. The United States Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department showed that the sun transit was at 1238, and that sunset occurred at 1814 on the day of the accident. At the time of the accident, the sun's disk was 39 degrees above the horizon on a bearing of 215 degrees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.