Hiller UH-12E accident near Quincy, Washington, September 12, 1987
On September 12, 1987 at about 1:55 am local time, a Hiller UH-12E (helicopter), registered N8QA, was destroyed in an accident near Quincy, Washington. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. 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
- September 12, 1987 · about 1:55 am local time
- Place
- Quincy, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hiller UH-12E · all UH-12Es on the register
- Registration
- N8QA · registry record · serial 1073
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION MANEUVER THE PILOT FLEW INTO TWO 23,000 VOLT POWERLINES. THE HELICOPTER'S ROTOR BLADES STRUCK THE POWERLINES, THE AIRCRAFT TURNED TO THE RIGHT AND DESCENDED TO THE GROUND.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,620 hours in all; 1,730 in this make and model; 397 in the last 90 days; 4,525 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,046 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 3, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 3,100 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming VO-540-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Quincy Flying Service, INC.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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 SEA87LA186.