Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Jacumba Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Jacumba, California 91934
Friday, October 15, 2004 1:15 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The public-use law enforcement helicopter collided with rocks and terrain while performing low altitude maneuvers in mountainous terrain on a dark night. The pilot maneuvered the helicopter in a turning descent, in an effort to provide the observer with a better view of the area. As he turned the helicopter, he heard a loud bang, followed by a vibration, at which point he opted to land. After egressing the helicopter, he discovered that approximately 3 inches of each tail rotor blade were missing. Days later, while inspecting the accident scene, he also found red and white paint transfers on a rock, located about 100 yards uphill from the landing site; he noted that the tail rotor blades were painted red and white. He thought that his complacency and eagerness to finish the flight might have contributed to him misjudging the maneuver. He reported no mechanical malfunctions of failures with the helicopter prior to impact.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from the mountainous terrain, which resulted in the helicopter's tail rotor blades impacting rocks. A factor in the accident was the pilot's complacency.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 10/15/2004 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 115 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Jacumba |
| Event State | CALIFORNIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 91934 |
| Event Date Year | 2004 |
| Event Date Month | 10 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 323658N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1160954W |
| Event Location Airport | Jacumba Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | L78 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 4 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 270 |
| Airport Elevation | 2844 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Night/Dark |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 8 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -8 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Calm |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | 2655 |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19035 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Oct 15 2004 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1300 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 31 2006 7:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | WP-SAN-FSDO |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6639R |
| NTSB Number | LAX05TA008 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Public Use |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Hughes |
| Aircraft Model | OH-6A |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 66-7874 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2550 |
| Aircraft Category | Helicopter |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 4 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 12 2004 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 11304 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | U.S Border Patrol Operations |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 9C Butterfield Trail |
| Aircraft Owner City | El Paso |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 79906 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | US Border Patrol |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1091 Airport Rd |
| Operator City | Imperial |
| Operator State | CA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 92251 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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) | Public Use |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | KIPL |
| Departure City | Imperial |
| Departure State | CA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1015 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | -- |
| Destination City | -- |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | -- |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 27 2005 5:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | COOS |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |