# Accident 20060906020269A: Hughes 369D, Somis, CA, September 6, 2006

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 6, 2006, 13:55 local time
- Place: Somis, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.6667° N, 119.0103° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6667&lon=-119.0103&mi=10
- Aircraft: N812CE, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N812CE-2008-05-14) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D (registry code 4470706, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20 series (registry code 03020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D
- Reported engine: ALLSN 250C20R
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 57 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX06LA288](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA288) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060906020269A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE HUGHES "500" HELICOPTER, MODEL HU-369-D, OWNED AND OPERATED BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON, WAS PERFORMING ROUTINE POWERLINE PATROL ON THE "RAINBOW 16" DISTRIBUTION LINES, WHICH RUN IN A GENERAL NORTH/SOUTH DIRECTION (150/330 DEGREES ACTUAL, AS MEASURED AT THE AREA OF IMPACT) IN AN AREA KNOWN AS COYOTE CANYON, NEAR SOMIS, CALIFORNIA. THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE "MOORPARK RTS48 66KW" TRANSMISSION LINES, WHICH INTERSECT WITH AND ARE ABOVE THE RAINBOW 16 LINES, RUNNING IN A GENERALLY EAST/WEST DIRECTION (070/250 DEGREES ACTUAL, AS MEASURED AT THE AREA OF IMPACT). HELICOPTER SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO THE ROTOR BLADES, BOOM, AND TAIL SECTION. THE TWO OCCUPANTS, THE PILOT AND "TROUBLEMAN" (OBSERVER), WERE FATALLY INJURED.

## 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 LAX06LA288](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA288), Sep 6, 2006: Hughes 369D (N812CE), Somis, CA, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate visual lookout, which resulted in a collision with wires.

## Other reports on N812CE (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19900809031859I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19900809031859I), Aug 9, 1990: Hughes 369D (N812CE), Litchfield, AZ, Minor damage. Struck a wire while flying at low atltiude inspecting microwave towers.

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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