Aerospatiale AS-350D accident near Tahoe Valley, California, March 17, 1986
On March 17, 1986 at about 9:45 pm local time, a Aerospatiale AS-350D (helicopter), registered N88GT, was destroyed in an accident near Tahoe Valley, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 5 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 17, 1986 · about 9:45 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Tahoe Valley, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aerospatiale AS-350D · all AS-350Ds on the register
- Registration
- N88GT · registry record · serial 1071
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CRASHED IN ROUGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN DURING TAKEOFF. THE ACFT WAS SHUTTLING SKIERS FROM A LANDING AREA LOCATED AT APPROXIMATELY 8,300 FT MLS TO A RIDGELINE AT 11,000 FT MSL. THE PLT REPORTED THE EGT (T-4) WAS AT 790 DEG (C), OVER THE TAKEOFF 5 MIN LIMITATION. THE PLT ATTEMPTED A NORMAL TAKEOFF. AS THE ACFT REACHED AN ALT ABOVE THE 80 FT TALL TREES BELOW TRANSLATIONAL LIFT, IT SHUDDERED THEN SPUN COUNTERCLOCKWISE. THE OGE MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED WEIGHT WAS COMPUTER AT 1,812 KILOGRAMS OR 3,995.5 LBS. THE WEIGHT CALCULATED BY THE PLT AFTER THE ACCIDENT WAS 3,995 LBS. EXAMINATION OF THE ACFT WEIGHT AND BALANCE RECORDS REVEALED THAT COMPONENTS WERE INSTALLED ON THE ACFT AFTER IT HAD BEEN WEIGHED. THE PLT DID NOT INCLUDE ALL THE ADDITIONAL COMPONENTS IN HIS CALCULATIONS.
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,596 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 14 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 5,400 as pilot in command; 750 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,522 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, February 15, 1986; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming LTS 101-600AC (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Free Peak CA at 8:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; not recorded at 15,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 | 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N88GT on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Aerospatiale AS350 65 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Aerospatiale 178 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming LTS 101-600AC 29 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,096 in the last ten years
- California 28,112 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX86LA143.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.