Skip to content

LAX87IA260

1987-07-08 · CUPERTINO, California, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SJC

N160BK has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SIKORSKY UH-60A, built 1983), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

A MBB BK117A-3 HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH WIRES WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH TO AN ASPHALT ROAD IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. NIGHT VMC PREVAILED AT THE TIME. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HE DID NOT SEE THE WIRES AND WAS UNAWARE OF THE COLLISION UNTIL HE WAS INFORMED BY GROUND PERSONNEL. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE HAD MADE 'NUMEROUS ORBITS' PRIOR TO BEGINNING HIS DESCENT FOR THE LANDING. THE PILOT ALSO INDICATED THAT HIS VISION WAS HAMPERED BY BLOWING DUST FROM THE HELICOPTER'S ROTORWASH AND THAT HE WAS BLINDED BY A SPOTLIGHT ON A LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLE. THE FLIGHT NURSE WHO WAS OCCUPYING THE RIGHT SEAT FACING AFT ALSO INDICATED THAT THE CONDITIONS WERE DUSTY AND GROUND PERSONNEL HAD POINTED THE LIGHT IN THE PILOTS FACE. THE PILOT ALSO INDICATED COMMUNICATIONS WITH GROUND PERSONNEL WAS OFTEN GARBLED. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_LAX87IA260.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.