Hughes 369D accident near Jim Thorpe, PA
On September 11, 2025, a Hughes 369D (helicopter) was involved in an accident near Jim Thorpe, PA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 11, 2025
- Place
- Jim Thorpe, PA
- Aircraft
- Hughes 369D · Helicopter
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.884°N, 75.700°W
- NTSB ID
- 20250911200985
NTSB summary
On September 11, 2025, about 1402 eastern daylight time, a Hughes (McDonnell Douglas) 369D helicopter, N5072F, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The commercial pilot and line technician were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load flight. According to the operator, the helicopter departed a landing zone about 1400 with 45 gallons of Jet-A fuel, to perform work near a 120-ft-tall transmission tower about 1 mile away. The purpose of the flight was to measure and mark sections along a fiber optic wire, located above the transmission wires. Anti-galloping devices (dampers) were to be installed at a later time, on the conductor wire below the fiber optic wire markings. To accomplish this task, the line technician would be positioned on a skid plate, on the left outside of the helicopter, behind the pilot seat, with colored tape. The line technician would then adhere a section of colored tape to the fiber optic wire at the position where the anti-galloping device was to be installed. There were no known witnesses to the accident sequence. Other line technicians, working about 2 miles away, reported feeling and hearing vibrations in the lines about the time of the accident. The wreckage came to rest in a vertical nose-down position adjacent to the transmission tower with severed fiber optic wire, oriented about a 210° magnetic heading. The fuel tank had been breached during impact. A strong odor of Jet-A fuel was present at the accident site. Additionally, residual
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Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.
