Hiller UH-12E accident near Mount Angle, Oregon, March 8, 1982
On March 8, 1982 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Hiller UH-12E (helicopter), registered N59366, was destroyed in an accident near Mount Angle, Oregon. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under external-load helicopter rules (Part 133). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- March 8, 1982 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Angle, Oregon
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH-12E · all UH-12Es on the register
- Registration
- N59366 · no longer on the register · serial 1069
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · external-load helicopter rules (Part 133)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING USED ON AN EXTERNAL LOAD OPERATION. ON HIS FOURTH LOAD, THE PILOT WAS TO TRANSPORT A 1190 LB ELECTRIC PUMP AND FAN FROM THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK. WHILE PREPARING TO LIFT THE LOAD, THE PILOT WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH ITS POSITION. HE RELEASED THE EXTERNAL LOAD LINE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HELICOPTER, MOVED THE HELICOPTER TO THE RIGHT, AND LANDED NEAR THE PICKUP TRUCK. JUST PRIOR TO LANDING, THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES STRUCK THE LOAD AND KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE TRUCK. THE GROUND HOOKUP PERSON RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES FROM FLYING DEBRIS.
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: instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,287 hours in all; 1,232 in this make and model; 67 in the last 90 days; 5,812 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,835 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Mount Angle OR at 12:30 pm
- Destination: Mount Angle OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N59366 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.