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LAX87LA105

1987-01-31 · LOS ANGELES, California, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N5594C has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BEECH A36, built 1991), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

A SIKORSKY S-58B COLLIDED WITH A MARKED 253 FT AGL ANTENNA TOWER (TWR) WHILE MANEUVERING OVER EXTERNAL LOAD LIFT SITE. THE PLT INDICATED THAT HE WAS SITTING IN THE RIGHT SEAT OF THE ACFT IN A RIGHT DESCENDING ORBIT CONDUCTING A SITE RECON AND THAT HE WAS AWARE OF THE TWRS PRESENCE. THE PLT STATED THAT HE MISJUDGED HIS POSITION RE THE TWR. THE PLT INDICATED THAT HE STARTED A DESCENT WHILE DISCUSSING THE LIFT PLAN WITH HIS CREWCHIEF. BOTH CREWMEMBERS WHO WERE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ACFT WERE LOOKING TO THE RIGHT AT THE LIFT SITE WHEN THE HELICOPTER STRUCK THE ANTENNA TWR. THE ANTENNA TWR WAS A PROPERLY MARKED OBSTRUCTION AND MET THE LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAA ADVISORY CIRCULAR 70/7460-1. THE COLLISION DAMAGED THE MAIN ROTOR. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_LAX87LA105.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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