- Date
- August 5, 1987, 06:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Brentwood, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N61PCHiller UH-23-D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 24, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870805043249A
- Case key
- 25336
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During an aerial application flight, the tail boom weight separated and contacted the tail rotor. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and collided with a tree and subsequently the terrain. Post acc invest revealed that the 'pip pins' which secure the tail boom weight broke in flt allowing movement of the weight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N61PC
- Reported as
- Hiller UH-23-D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 1309
- Airframe hours
- 2,502
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540, 305 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Doff W. Cooksey
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 12, 1987 · 75 hours before
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 4,900 in this make and model · 90 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N61PC · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.