Hiller UH21E accident near Salinas, California, August 12, 1986
On August 12, 1986 at about 3:45 pm local time, a Hiller UH21E (helicopter), registered N169HA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salinas, California (Salinas airport). 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 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
- August 12, 1986 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Salinas, California · Salinas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH21E
- Registration
- N169HA · no longer on the register · serial HA-3069
- 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 PLT EXPERIENCED A 'RATCHETING' TO THE RIGHT AND A DECREASE IN ROTOR RPM DURING CRUISE FLT AT 75-100 FT AGL. THE PLT MADE AN AUTOROTATION BUT COULD NOT CUSHION THE LANDING DUE TO THE LOW ALT AND LACK OF ROTOR RPM. THE HELICOPTER IMPACTED HARD AND CARTWHEELED. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE HELICOPTER REVEALED THE UPPER HOUSING OIL ORIFICE WAS COMPLETELY BLOCKED WITH A FOREIGN MATERIAL WHICH RESULTED IN OIL STARVATION TO THE SECONDARY PLANET SYSTEM. THE FOREIGN MATERIAL WAS ANALYZED AND FOUND TO CONTAIN 'SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES OF SILICON'.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,337 hours in all; 3,123 in this make and model; 368 in the last 90 days; 7,103 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,940 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 10, 1986; 183 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-540-C2A (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Salinas CA at 3:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:00 pm from SNS, 5 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 N169HA 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.