Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mexico City Mexico
Sunday, April 4, 1999 18:20 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On April 4, 1999, at 1820 central standard time, a Bell UH1-B helicopter, N64CC, while standing on the ramp with idle rotors was struck by a Bell UH1-B helicopter, N123SJ, maneuvering for landing at the Benito Jauavez International Airport, Mexico City, Mexico. The helicopters were owned and operated by San Joaquin Helicopter, Inc., Delano, California, as public use aircraft under CFR Part 91. The aircraft were under contract with Helicopters y Vehiculos Aereos Nacionales S.A. de C.V. for several months during the fire season in Mexico. The commercial pilot, flying N64CC, and his sole passenger were not injured. The airline transport rated pilot, flying N123SJ, and his two passengers were not injured. N64CC sustained substantial damage, and N123SJ was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country repositioning flight that originally departed Delano, California, for Mexico City. The last refueling departure point was Culiacan, Mexico. According to the operator's chief pilot, the flight departed Delano, California, on April 1, 1999, with en route stops at Tijuana, Nogales, and Culiacan, Mexico. Upon the arrival at Mexico City, the pilot of helicopter, N64CC, landed the helicopter and rolled ground idle. The pilot of helicopter, N123SJ, was maneuvering away from the hangars for landing when the main rotor blades contacted the main rotor blades of N64CC. The main rotor blades were damaged on each of the helicopters. On helicopter, N123SJ, the transmission was separated from the mounts. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the Government of Mexico. Any further information may be obtained from: Subsecretaria de Transportes Direccion General de Aviacion Civil (DGAC) Providencia 807-Cuarto Piso Colonial del Valle 03100 Mexico, D.F. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released or obtained for the Government of Mexico.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/4/1999
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1820
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City MEXICO CITY
Event State --
Event Country MEXICO
Zipcode of the event site 00000
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? Yes
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Not Reported
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 5
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 0
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 6 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1600
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2003 12:08PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\ZUZL
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft #2

Aircraft Registration Number N64CC N123SJ
NTSB Number FTW99WA109A FTW99WA109B
Missing Aircraft Indicator N N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? -- --
Damage Substantial Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Unknown Unknown
Aircraft Explosion Unknown Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Bell Bell
Aircraft Model UH1-B UH1-B
Aircraft Series Identifier UH1-B UH1-B
Aircraft Serial Number
Certified Max Gross Weight -- --
Aircraft Category Helicopter Helicopter
Aircraft Registration Class Unknown Unknown
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No No
Flight Crew Seats -- --
Cabin Crew Seats -- --
Passenger Seats -- --
Total number of seats on the aircraft -- --
Number of Engines -- --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown Unknown
Date of Last Inspection -- --
Airframe hours since last inspection -- --
Airframe Hours -- --
ELT Installed Unknown Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown Unknown
ELT Type -- --
Aircraft Owner Name
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City
Aircraft Owner State
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode
Operator is an individual? -- --
Operator Name -- --
Operator Same as Owner? No No
Operator Is Doing Business As -- --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No No
Operator Street Address 1408 SOUTH LEXINGTON AVENUE 1408 SOUTH LEXINGTON AVENUE
Operator City DELANO DELANO
Operator State CA CA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 93125 93215
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown Unknown
Operator Certificate Number -- --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not -- --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight -- --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail -- --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning Positioning
Second Pilot on Board Unknown Unknown
Departure Point Same as Event No No
Departure Airport Code
Departure City CULIACAN CULIACAN
Departure State MX MX
Departure Country
Departure Time 0 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code MEX MEX
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Standing Landing
Report sent to ICAO? -- --
Evacuation occurred -- --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 31 2000 6:55PM Dec 30 2000 9:50PM
User who most recently changed record dbo dbo
Since inspection or accident -- --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0 0
Runway Length -- --
Runway Width -- --
Sight Seeing flight No No
Air Medical Flight No No
Medical Flight -- --