Bell UH1B accident near Lagunitas, California, January 27, 1982
On January 27, 1982 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Bell UH1B (helicopter), registered N96142, was destroyed in an accident near Lagunitas, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 27, 1982 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lagunitas, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bell UH1B · all UH1Bs on the register
- Registration
- N96142 · no longer on the register · serial 61-756
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
HELICOPTER CRASHED INTO A RESERVOIR AND SANK IN 60 FEET OF WATER AFTER TAIL BOOM SEPARATED DURING A LOG SLINGING OPERATION. THE PILOT HAD LIFTED AND BEGAN TO BACK UP WHEN A LOUD NOISE WAS HEARD AND THE TAIL SEPARATED. THE LOG WAS RELEASED AND AN AUTO-ROTATION WAS INITIATED. THE AIRCRAFT SANK UPON WATER CONTACT. EXTENSIVE FATIGUE CRACKING IN THE SKIN, AND FRETTING AND LOOSE RIVETS IN THE TAILBOOM WERE FOUND.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 4,035 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,116 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 88 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,500 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming T53L11D (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Lagunitas CA at 1:00 pm
- Destination: Lagunitas CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.