# Accident 20200126001589A: Sikorsky S-76B, Calabasas, CA, January 26, 2020 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 26, 2020, 09:45 local time - Place: Calabasas, CA - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Descent - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: ISHA - Location: 34.1107° N, 118.6709° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1107&lon=-118.6709&mi=10 - Aircraft: N72EX, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N72EX-2022-01-08) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Sikorsky S-76B (registry code 8143007, https://openairdocs.org/model/sikorsky-s-76b) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6 series (registry code 52033, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: SIKORSKY S-76B - Reported engine: P&W PT6 SERIES - People aboard: 9 - Fatal injuries: 9 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor - Pilot flight hours: 8,200 total, 1,250 in this make and model, 75 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB DCA20MA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA20MA059) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200126001589A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON JANUARY 26, 2020, AT 0945 PACIFIC STANDARD TIME (PST), A SIKORSKY S-76B HELICOPTER, N72EX, COLLIDED WITH HILLY TERRAIN NEAR THE CITY OF CALABASAS, CALIFORNIA. THE PILOT AND EIGHT PASSENGERS WERE FATALLY INJURED, AND THE HELICOPTER WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND FIRE. THE HELICOPTER WAS OPERATED BY ISLAND EXPRESS HELICOPTERS INC. UNDER TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 135 AS AN ON-DEMAND PASSENGER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) FLIGHT FROM JOHN WAYNE- ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT, (KSNA), SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA, TO CAMARILLO AIRPORT, (KCMA), CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA. NTSB GO-TEAM ACCIDENT, FAA VAN NUYS FSDO AND AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION SUPPORT USED TO FULFILL GROUP PARTICIPATION. FLIGHT WAS A COMMERCIAL ON-DEMAND 135 VFR ONLY COMPANY DESIGNATOR ISHA. COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN/FOLLOWING. PILOT USED SPECIAL VFR TO TRANSITION THROUGH LA AREA AIRSPACE. ATC COMMUNICATIONS AND RADAR DATA INDICATE THE FLIGHT DEPARTED KSNA ABOUT 0906 PST. N72EX PROCEEDED TO THE NORTH-NORTHWEST AT AN ALTITUDE OF ABOUT 700 TO 800 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL) UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR). AT 0920, AS THE AIRCRAFT NEARED THE BURBANK CLASS C AIRSPACE, THE PILOT REQUESTED TO TRANSITION THE AREA ALONG HIGHWAY 101. THE CURRENT BURBANK WEATHER OBSERVATION REPORTED INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) CONDITIONS. IN RESPONSE TO THE PILOT?S REQUEST, THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER ADVISED THAT CLOUD TOPS WERE REPORTED AT 2,400 FEET MSL AND QUERIED THEPILOT?S INTENTIONS; THE PILOT THEN REQUESTED A SPECIAL VFR CLEARANCE (AN ATC AUTHORIZATION TO PROCEED IN CONTROLLED AIRSPACE AT LESS THAN VFR WEATHER MINIMA). THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER ADVISED THAT THE PILOT WOULD NEED TO HOLD FOR A SHORT TIME DUE TO IFR TRAFFIC, WHICH THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED. AT 0932, ATC CLEARED THE PILOT OF N72EX TO TRANSITION THE CLASS C SURFACE AREA FOLLOWING THE I-5 FREEWAY, MAINTAINING SPECIAL VFR CONDITIONS AT OR BELOW 2,500 FEET. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED WITH A CORRECT READBACK AND CLIMBED TO APPROXIMATELY 1,400 FEET MSL (600 FEET AGL). IN RESPONSE TO QUERY, THE PILOT REPLIED TO THE BURBANK ATC THAT HE WOULD FOLLOW HIGHWAY 118 AND ?LOOP AROUND VNY [VAN NUYS AIRPORT]? TO FOLLOW HIGHWAY 101. ATC ACKNOWLEDGED AND COORDINATED. AT 0939, AS N72EX WAS PASSING WEST OF VAN NUYS AT 1,500 FEET MSL, THE VNY CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT IF HE WAS IN VFR CONDITIONS. THE PILOT REPLIED ?VFR CONDITIONS, ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED,? AND THE VNY CONTROLLER ADVISED HIM TO CONTACT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TERMINAL RADAR APPROACH CONTROL (SCT) FOR RADAR ADVISORY SERVICES. AT 0945, THE PILOT AGAIN CONTACTED SCT AND ADVISED HE WAS CLIMBING ABOVE CLOUD LAYERS AND REQUESTED ADVISORY SERVICES. THE SCT CONTROLLER THEN ASKED THE PILOT HIS INTENTIONS, TO WHICH HE REPLIED HE WAS CLIMBING TO 4,000 FEET. THERE WERE NO FURTHER TRANSMISSIONS. ALTHOUGH THE PILOT REPORTED INTENTIONS TO CLIMB, RADAR/ADS-B DATA INDICATE THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLIMBING ALONG A COURSE ALIGNED WITH HIGHWAY 101 JUST EAST OF THE LAS VIRGENES EXIT. BETWEEN LAS VIRGENES AND LOST HILLS ROAD, THE AIRCRAFT REACHED 2,300 FEET MSL (APPROXIMATELY 1,500 FEET ABOVE THE HIGHWAY, WHICH LIES BELOW THE SURROUNDING TERRAIN) AND BEGAN A LEFT TURN. EIGHT SECONDS LATER, THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN DESCENDING AND THE LEFT TURN CONTINUED. THE DESCENT RATE INCREASED TO OVER 4,000 FEET PER MINUTE (FPM), GROUND SPEED REACHED 160 KNOTS. THE LAST ADS-B TARGET WAS RECEIVED AT 1,200 FEET MSL APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET SOUTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY TO ATC. THE AIRCRAFT WAS CAPABLE AND CERTIFIED FOR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS. PILOT CONTINUED FLIGHT INTO DETERIORATING CONDITIONS. THIS DOCUMENT MAY NEED TO BE AMENDED AS INFORMATION IS DEVELOPED DURING THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS. ## 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 DCA20MA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DCA20MA059), Jan 26, 2020: Sikorsky S76 (N72EX), Calabasas, CA, destroyed, 9 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to continue flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of control. Contributing to… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.