# Accident 20251205019029A: Hughes 369D, Pryor, OK, December 5, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 5, 2025, 09:00 local time
- Place: Pryor, OK
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Hover/Holding
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.2214° N, 95.2516° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2214&lon=-95.2516&mi=10
- Aircraft: N161LA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N161LA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Hughes Helicopters HUGHES 369D (registry code 4470706, https://openairdocs.org/model/hughes-helicopters-hughes-369d) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Allison 250-C20B (registry code 03081, https://openairdocs.org/engine/allison-250-c20b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: HUGHES 369D
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 8,578 total, 4,280 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR26FA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA054) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20251205019029A

## Narrative

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

ON DECEMBER 5, 2025, AT APPROXIMATELY 0900, A HUGHES 369D HELICOPTER WAS HOVERING OVER A TREE LINE WHILE PERFORMING OBSERVER DUTIES FOR POWERLINE WORKERS.

ACCORDING TO EYEWITNESSES, TWO POWERLINE WORKERS WERE STATIONED ON POWERLINES RUNNING PARALLEL TO THE TREE LINE THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS HOVERING OVER. WITNESSES STATED THAT THE HELICOPTER WAS AT AN ALTITUDE ABOVE THE HEIGHT OF THE POWERLINE TOWERS. THIRTY TO FORTY-FIVE SECONDS AFTER THE HELICOPTER PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED OVER THE RADIO THAT IT WAS CLEAR TO REPOSITION, THE HELICOPTER'S NOSE PITCHED UP ABRUPTLY AND PERFORMED A LOOP AND ROLL BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE FATALILY INJURING THE PILOT. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE TIME WERE LOW CEILINGS WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY, LIGHT WINDS. THERE WAS NO POST CRASH FIRE.

## 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 WPR26FA054](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR26FA054), Dec 5, 2025: Hughes 369D (N161LA), Pryor, OK, substantial damage, 1 fatal, investigation ongoing

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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