Hughes 369D accident near Highland, California, June 26, 1995
On June 26, 1995 at about 5:20 pm local time, a Hughes 369D (helicopter), registered N1089N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Highland, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to verify the security of his passenger's cargo/personal belongings which departed the aircraft striking the tailrotor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 26, 1995 · about 5:20 pm local time
- Place
- Highland, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · all 369Ds on the register
- Registration
- N1089N · no longer on the register · serial 510964D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- 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 pilot was operating in mountainous terrain with three doors removed. He was positioning survey personnel to remark survey sites. During departure from the mountainous terrain the pilot briefly noticed something in his skid mounted mirror. At that point, the pilot and the three passengers heard a loud 'whump' followed by a loss of tail rotor control. The pilot maneuvered the spinning helicopter over some power lines and onto a downward sloping ridgeline. The helicopter landed hard and rolled down the mountain about 100 to 150 feet. The tail rotor blades, along with half of the severed gear box were not recovered. The left rear seat passenger was missing a sweat jacket. An abundance of 12-inch reinforced marker tape was found at the accident site. Metallurgical analysis revealed that a high strain rate crack growth had occured as in a one-time overload on the tail rotor gearbox casting.
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: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 5,305 in this make and model; 161 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,112 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 30, 1995; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,000 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20B (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hsi Helicopters, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: L67 CA at 4:20 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 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.
Other NTSB records under N1089N 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.