Sikorsky UH-60A accident near St. Petersburg, Florida, December 3, 1994
On December 3, 1994 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Sikorsky UH-60A (helicopter), registered N23321, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. Petersburg, Florida (St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport). It was a public-use flight under public-use (government) rules. No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain separation while ground taxiing between two hangers, resulting in the main rotor blades colliding with a hanger. Contributing to the accident was the lack of written procedures pertaining to ground marshalling of aircraft, and designated parking areas.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 3, 1994 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- St. Petersburg, Florida · St. Petersburg-Clearwater
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Sikorsky UH-60A · all UH-60As on the register
- Registration
- N23321 · no longer on the register · serial 79-23321
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Public-use flight · public-use (government) rules
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot-in-command was ground taxiing into an unmarked parking area between two hangers without a ground marshaller. The helicopter's main rotor blades collided with the hanger. There were no written procedures pertaining to marshalling of aircraft or designated parking areas.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 585 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 10,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 25, 1994; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 20,500 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Ge T-700 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NIP Jacksonville FL at 9:31 pm
- Destination: PIE FL
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 pm from PIE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA95GA033.