- Date
- April 30, 1996, 22:40 local (May 1, 1996, 05:40 UTC)
- Place
- Yuma, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5062QHughes 369
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960430034969A
- Case key
- 29576
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
failure of the pilot to maintain altitude and/or clearance from obstacles, while maneuvering a low altitude at night. Factors relating to the accident were: darkness and the lack of visual cues.
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
The pilot was on a night visual surveillance operation in an area that was familiar to him. During a turn to the right at low altitude, the helicopter collided with transmission power lines. No visual or mechanical problems were reported to have occurred before the accident.
Factual narrative
On April 30, 1996, at 2240 hours mountain standard time, a Hughes 369 helicopter, N5062Q, collided with some power lines during a night visual operation near Yuma, Arizona. The helicopter received substantial damage and the pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and a company VFR flight plan was activated. The aircraft is owned and operated by the U.S. Border Patrol as a public-use aircraft.
According to the operator, the pilot is experienced in the area and did not report any visual or mechanical problems with the aircraft prior to colliding with the wires.
The pilot stated in his accident report that he was in the beginning of a planned turn to the right at an indicated airspeed between 30 to 40 knots when he heard a loud bang with a momentary ball of fire in the cockpit. He landed the aircraft, and after inspection, found four severed strands of aluminum power transmission lines lying on the ground next to the aircraft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5062Q
- Reported as
- Hughes 369
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 67-16255
- Airframe hours
- 10,657
- Engine
- Allison 250-C20B, 420 horsepower, turbo shaft
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public aircraft · Part 91
- Registered owner
- U.S. Border Patrol
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · April 30, 1996 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- YUM
- 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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 11,623 total · 4,500 in this make and model · 11,451 as pilot in command · 90 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Wind
- 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.