- Date
- August 24, 1990, 07:15 local (14:15 UTC)
- Place
- Santa Monica, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N5012AHughes 369D
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900824036269A
- Case key
- 26907
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's decision to exit the helicopter with the engine running and no one at the controls.
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
At the end of a sling load operation, the plt landed the helicopter on the roof of a shopping mall parking structure, then exited the helicopter with the engine running at high RPM to retrieve the front door from the back seat. As he started to install the door the helicopter proceeded to lift off and the pilot ran from the helicopter. It raised about 10 ft then rolled over. A witness stated the plt told him his sleeve had caught the collective.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5012A
- Reported as
- Hughes 369D
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 510980D
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 375 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work use · Part 133
- Operator
- Aris Helicopter Inc.
- Registered owner
- Aris Helicopters Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LAX · Los Angeles, CA
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,300 total · 50 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 60 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Observed at
- SMO, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.