# Accident 20010616014359A: Hughes 369HS, Mountain View, CA, June 16, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 16, 2001, 14:15 local time
- Place: Mountain View, CA
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Rotorcraft external load (Part 133)
- Operator: TH6L
- Location: 37.4283° N, 122.0244° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.4283&lon=-122.0244&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4467V, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4467V) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes 369HS (registry code 4470728, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-369hs) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369HS
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX01LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA211) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010616014359A

## Narrative

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

(.19)ON JUNE 16, 2001, ABOUT 1415 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A HUGHES 369HS, N4467V, OPERATED BY TRINITY HELICOPTERS, INC., HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA, COLLIDED WITH A TOWER AND CRASHED ABOUT 1.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MOFFETT FIELD, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE PUBLIC UTILITY WORK-RELATED FLIGHT PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 133. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED, AND THE PASSENGER RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM MOUNTAIN VIEW ABOUT 1410. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE FLEW TO THE TOWER TO PICKUP A PASSENGER WHO WAS PERFORMING MAINTENANCE ON THE TOWER. THE PILOT PLACED ONE SKID ON THE TOWER AND THE PASSENGER BOARDED THE HELICOPTER. THE WIND DIRECTION SUDDENLY SHIFTED, AND DESPITE THE PILOT'S EFFORT TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL, THE HELICOPTER DYNAMICALLY ROLLED OVER RESULTING IN A MAIN ROTOR BLADE STRIKING THE TOWER. CONTROL WAS LOST, AND THE HELICOPTER FELL ABOUT 90 FEET TO THE GROUND. HE ALSO STATED THAT PRIOR TO EXPERIENCING THE LOSS OF CONTROL, NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS WERE EXPERIENCED.                                                           (-23) A PACIFIC GAS & ELECTIC (PG & E) EMPLOYEE WAS BEING TRANSPORTED FROM ONE TOWER TO ANOTHER, UPON REACHING THE NEXT TOWER THE PILOT BONDED THE LEFT SKID TO THE TOWER AND THE WORKER WAS STEPPING OUT. ABOUT THAT TIME, THE WIND DIRECTION CHANGED FROM A TIAL WIND TO A RIGHT CROSS WIND.  THE PILOT WAS UNABLE EVEN WITH FULL DEFLECTION OF THE CONTROLS TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT.  THE HELICOPTER CONTINUED TO ROLL OVER TOWARDS THE TOWER TO THE LEFT, WENT OVER THE TOP OF THE TOWER STRIKING THE TOWER WITH THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE, AND LANDED UPSIDE DOWN ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE TOWER.  SERIOUS INJURY TO THE PILOT AND MINOR INJURY TO THE PASSENGER.

## 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 LAX01LA211](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX01LA211), Jun 16, 2001: Hughes 369HS (N4467V), Mountain View, CA, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control while hovering out of ground effect. A factor was the wind gusts.

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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