WPR26FA121

On March 9, 2026, about 1517 Pacific daylight time, an MD Helicopters 369FF, N530XX, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Mojave, California. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load flight. The helicopter was performing power line rope stringing operations between steel power transmission poles within a wind farm located in the foothills of the Tehachapi Mountains, about 6 miles west of Mojave. The helicopter was equipped with a side hook mounted to the left side of the airframe just below the aft door, which was attached to a stringing rope. The operation required that the pilot maneuver the rope onto pulley blocks located at the end of the power pole cross arms. Depending on the location and type of block used, the pilot would either maneuver the rope into position unaided or have a technician in the bucket of a boom lift truck guide the rope in by hand. The pilot had been flying since about 0730 that morning, and in the time leading up to the accident, he had performed multiple uneventful stringing operations. For the accident flight, the pilot planned to guide a 600 ft length of rope into a stringing block mounted about 110 ft above ground level (agl), with the aid of a technician in the bucket. The boom truck operator and bucket technician were both in position as the helicopter lifted the rope which was already strung from a power pole about 600 ft south. Both reported that operations up to that point were normal, and the helicopter was in a vertical climb, clear of obstructions, and carrying the full length of the rope from the adjacent pole. However, once the helicopter reached about 200 ft agl, the technician in the bucket heard a pop sound followed by silence. The truck operator, who was facing away from the helicopter, stated that he heard a pop and then whizzing sound, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the helicopter rapidly descending. The bucket technician watched as the helicopter rapidly descended, and the rope released from the hook. He stated that by the time the helicopter struck the ground, the main rotor blades had almost completely stopped spinning. Both stated that they did not see any smoke or vapor trailing from the helicopter at any time up to the impact, nor did they hear any unusual sounds until the event. The helicopter did not contact any ropes, poles or cables at any time. A witness located about 1/3 north-northwest and 100 ft above the site was in his truck at the time of the accident. He was not actively watching but looked up when the helicopter sound abruptly stopped. He could see the main rotor blades slowing as the helicopter rapidly descended, and as it approached the ground, he could see the helicopter yawing from side to side. It then struck the ground in a level attitude and erupted in flames. The helicopter came to rest in the northwest corner of a level dirt field, about 180 ft south of aneast-west road. The field was bound to the north by a set of power transmission poles and lines, about 80 ft in height, and to the west by a parallel set of 195 ft tall power distribution poles that the crew were working on. The helicopter came to rest right-side-down in the field, on a northeast heading. The tailboom and tail rotor assembly were largely intact, with almost no damage to the tail rotor blades. The rest of the structure forward of the engine bay sustained significant thermal damage, consuming the entire cabin, fuel tank, instrument panel, along with most of the flight controls and the lower section of the main transmission. All five main rotor blades remained partially attached and equally spaced around the burnt remnants of the hub assembly on top of the main cabin. All blades exhibited similar upward bending deformation along their entire length, with almost no evidence of leading-edge gouges or chordwise scratches. The airframe remnants, engine and transmission were retained for further examination.