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Accidents · NTSB LAX86LA065 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Hiller H-23A accident near Madera, California, December 13, 1985

On December 13, 1985 at about 1:59 pm local time, a Hiller H-23A (helicopter), registered N3107G, was destroyed in an accident near Madera, California. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).

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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
December 13, 1985 · about 1:59 pm local time · cases in 1985
Place
Madera, California · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was seriously injured.
Weather
instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
Aircraft
Hiller H-23A · all H-23As on the register
Registration
N3107G · registry record · serial 236
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

THE HELICOPTER CRASHED DURING A LOCAL FROST PROTECTION FLIGHT. AFTER ABOUT ONE HOUR OF LIGHT, IN DARK NIGHT TIME CONDITIONS, FOG APPEARED SUDDENLY AND THE PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED AND CRASHED INTO 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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
  • Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
  • Flight time: 3,285 hours in all; 3 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 3,120 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: ctr

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 1,113 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, December 10, 1985; 2 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
  • Seats: 3
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Franklin 6V-335-B (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: Madera CA at 12:30 pm
  • Flight plan: none
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: night, dark
  • Visibility: 8 statute miles
  • Sky: not recorded; not recorded
  • Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1

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.

Connections how this case links to the rest of the register

Aircraft
Place
Analytics

The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX86LA065.json.

The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.

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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.