Hiller UH-12E accident near Five Points, California, January 26, 2000
On January 26, 2000 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Hiller UH-12E (helicopter), registered N68024, was substantially damaged in an accident near Five Points, California. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 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 inadequate clearance while maneuvering beneath a telephone line.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 2000 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Five Points, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH-12E · all UH-12Es on the register
- Registration
- N68024 · no longer on the register · serial 1741
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot took off from a loading truck for the second time with the intention of spraying a nearby field. En route, he flew over a road and maneuvered beneath a telephone line that was suspended between 25 and 30 feet above the ground. The helicopter's tail rotor contacted the line and he lost control. The helicopter spun around and impacted the ground.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 9,000 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 14,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,080 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 12, 1999; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO540C2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 9,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:55 pm from NLC, 15 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N68024 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.