Hughes 369D accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, February 9, 1987
On February 9, 1987 at about 1:30 am local time, a Hughes 369D (helicopter), registered N1102U, was destroyed in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii (Ala Wai Heliport airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. 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
- February 9, 1987 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Ala Wai Heliport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · all 369Ds on the register
- Registration
- N1102U · no longer on the register · serial 100820D
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG TKOF CLB, A LOUD NOISE OCCURRED AS 1 OF 5 MAIN ROTORS (MRB'S) & THE TAIL BOOM SEPD FM THE HELICOPTER (HEL). THE HEL THEN CRASHED & HIT A SUBMERGED REEF APRX 200' FM THE HELIPORT. AN EXAM OF THE FAILED MRB SHOWED ITS RETENTION STRAP ASSY(RSA), PN 369D21210-501, FAILED FM FATIGUE IN AN AREA OF CORROSION; 11 OF THE MRB'S 16 STRAP LAMINATES HAD PREEXISTING CRACKS. CORROSION WAS FND ON 78 OF 80 LAMINATES. THE MAINT HNDBK REQD THE RSA'S BE INSPECTED AT 25, 100 & 600 HR INTER- VALS. SVC INFO NOTICE (SIN) DN-77.1 RDMDD A 300 HR INSPN IF ANY CRACK OR LAMINATE FAILURE WAS FND DRG A 100 HR INSPN. AD'S 77-15-09R1 & 81-10-08 REQD INSPN W/I (BUT NOT OUTBRD OF) THE PITCH HOUSING. DRG 100 HR/AD INSPNS AFTER 1768 & 1839 HRS OF OPN, UP TO 3 CRACKS WERE FND IN LAMINATE LEGS, BUT THEIR LCTNS WERE NOT DOCUMENTED FOR LTR INSPN. HOWEVER, DRG 2 SUBSEQUENT 100 HR INSPNS BY ANOTHER MECH, NO CRACKED LAMINATES WERE NOTED. THE HEL HAD 2135 HRS OF OPN WHEN THE ACDNT OCCURRED. SVC INFO LTR DL-54 RCMDD A TRI-FLOW WASH PROC AFTER THE LAST FLT OF EACH DAY WHEN OPNG IN A MARINE ENVIRONMENT
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, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,518 hours in all; 4,078 in this make and model; 134 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 7,950 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,135 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 13, 1987; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,550 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 am from HNL, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 2 |
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.