Hughes 369D accident near Dweese, NE
On February 19, 1996, a Hughes 369D (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Dweese, NE. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 19, 1996
- Place
- Dweese, NE
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.350°N, 98.129°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X05224
Official records · CHI96FA091
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Tower Diagrams: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 19, 1996, at 1455 central standard time, a Hughes 369D, N5141Y, registered to D Bar O Aviation, Inc., of Red Lodge, Montana, and piloted by a commercial helicopter pilot, impacted a transmission tower, while engaged in construction work on the tower. The accident occurred 2 miles north of Dweese, Nebraska. The helicopter was destroyed during the impact with the tower and the terrain. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. One worker on the tower received fatal injuries. The 14 CFR Part 133 operation was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The local flight had departed on this mission at 1450. The purpose of the flight was to place two workers and rigging on the top of a transmission tower so that the workers could set the rigging in order to pull transmission cables. The pilot was working for the first day on this type of endeavor. He had placed workers on two other transmission towers on the day of the accident. This was to be the third such operation. The pilot was trained by an individual who had been in this type of activity for a number of years. The individual giving the instruction had been along on previous flights that day. In an interview with the "instructor," he stated that he had told the pilot that landing on the top of the tower, on the "bridge" was not a recommended procedure. He stated that during the previous two operations the pilot had let the workers off on the outside of the tower on the "goats peaks." He said that the pilot's execution of the operation was excellent and he had decided t
Probable cause
the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decision, and his lack of total experience in the type of operation. A factor was the crosswind.
More accidents in NE
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Browse: Nebraska · Hughes aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
