# Accident 19960708016111A: Hughes 369D, Honolulu, HI, July 8, 1996

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 8, 1996, 16:04 local time
- Place: Honolulu, HI
- Damage: Destroyed
- Collision: Midair collision, first aircraft
- Phase of flight: Formation Flying
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: MKHA
- Location: 21.2996° N, 157.8604° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.2996&lon=-157.8604&mi=10
- Aircraft: N64MK (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20B
- People aboard: 4
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,650 total, 400 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX96LA267](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96LA267) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960708016111A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(.4)THE HUGHES HELICOPTER, N64MK, AND THE MOONEY AIRPLANE, N5801N, HAD DEPARTED ON A FORMATION FLIGHT TO FILM A MOVIE. CAMERAMEN WERE IN BOTH AIRCRAFT, AND AN ACTRESS WAS IN THE MOONEY'S RIGHT FRONT SEAT. BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS, THE MOONEY WAS THE LEAD AIRCRAFT AND WAS FLOWN BY ITS LEFT SEATED AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT.  A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATED PILOT WAS FLYING THE HUGHES, ALSO FROM THE LEFT SEAT.  THE PILOTS WERE IN RADIO CONTACT WITH EACH OTHER.  VIDEOTAPE TAKEN FROM BOTH AIRCRAFT WAS REVIEWED.  WHILE CRUISING PAST DIAMOND HEAD AT 100 KNOTS AND 1,000 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL, THE HUGHES DECREASED ITS DISTANCE FROM THE MOONEY'S RIGHT WING, JOINED UP IN A TIGHT SIDE-BY-SIDE FORMATION, AND AT TIMES WAS SEVERAL FEET HIGHER, LOWER, IN FRONT OF, AND BEHIND THE MOONEY.  THE MOONEY PILOT REPORTED THAT SHE OBSERVED THE HUGHES.  SECONDS PRIOR TO THE HUGHES' MAIN ROTOR BLADES IMPACTING AND SEVERING THE OUTER 3 FEET OF THE MOONEY'S RIGHT WING, THE MOONEY PILOT DIVERTED HER ATTENTION AWAY FROM THE HUGHES.  THE MOONEY PILOT LOOKED OUTSIDE HER LEFT WINDSHIELD AND POINTED OUT TO THE ACTRESS THE PRESENCE OF A SHORELINE HOTEL.  AFTER THE COLLISION, THE MOONEY LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER MISHAP.  THE HUGHES  AUTOROTATED INTO THE OCEAN AND SANK.

## Other aircraft in the event

- N5801N, Mooney M20J: [Accident 19960708016112A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960708016112A)

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB LAX96LA267](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX96LA267), Jul 9, 1996: Hughes 369D (N64MK), Honolulu, HI, destroyed. Probable cause: the failure of both pilots to maintain an adequate clearance from each other while in formation flight.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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