- Date
- October 29, 1986, 11:09 local (19:09 UTC)
- Place
- Los Angeles, CA
- Injuries
- 73 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7255UBoeing 727-222N8620FHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 19, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 25432
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
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
Drg arr, united flt 282 (Boeing 727, N7255U) was vectored by Los Angeles (lax) TRACON for an ILS rwy 25L apch. While in a dscndg turn at 2100' MSL to intercept the ILS LOC at 2000', the capt saw a helicopter (hel) ahead & pulled up. He estdhis acft passed w/i 200' to 300' of the hel. The hel was a dea acft (Hughes 369D, N8620F) on a surveillance flt. The deaplt said he was hovering blo the lax terminal ctl area (tca) when he saw the Boeing make a rgt turn twd the lax arpt. He said the Boeing was in his view for the entire time & it was not a hazard to him, but he was concerned about its low alt. Later, he adzd lax twr. The dea plt stated he was operg btn 1400' & 1900' & that the hel was at 1300' when the Boeing converged. He estd the Boeing crossed 300' to 400' abv the hel. Radar data indcd the 2 acft converged to a slant range of 1500'. Min vert sepn was 200'. Radar data also indcd that flt 282 remained abv the tca floor (2000') & that the hel was blo the tca. A leak was fnd in the hel's pitot static sys, which caused an undetermined error.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N7255U
- Reported as
- Boeing 727-222
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 21402
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- United Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- MRV · Monterey, CA
- Destination
- LAX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- runway 25L, 11,096 × 200 ft, concrete
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.
- Registration
- N8620F
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 70160D
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dept Of Justice, Dea
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 30, 1986 · 90 hours before
- Departed
- TOA · Torrence, CA
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N7255U
- Age
- 49
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 7 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N8620F
- Age
- 43
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 1,100 in this make and model · 119 in the last 90 days · 80 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LAX, 11 nm away
Other investigations on N7255U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.