Hughes 369D accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, June 26, 1996
On June 26, 1996 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Hughes 369D (helicopter), registered N5125Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the helicopter. The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing was a factor in the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 26, 1996 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · all 369Ds on the register
- Registration
- N5125Q · registry record · serial 1100D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had landed in a remote area to transport three U.S. Forest Service employees into a national forest. The employees departed the helicopter and began walking away. While at full operating RPM, the helicopter rocked backwards and the tail rotor struck a rock. The helicopter received damage to the tail rotor blades, gearbox, tail boom and drive shaft.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 84 in the last 90 days; 43 in the last 30 days; 2,810 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,498 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 16, 1996; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KTN AK at 10:10 am
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 125° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.