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LAX89FA165 · Robinson R22 BETA

20 Apr 1989 · Stockton, CA, United States

Robinson R22 BETA · Accident: in flight collision with object while maneuvering

From Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK) to Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK)

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Event

NTSB case
LAX89FA165
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
2 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Robinson R22 BETA

Aircraft type
Robinson R22
Category
Helicopter
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N26198
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK), Stockton, CATo Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK)
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
Maneuvering
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Wire, transmission
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Destroyed

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Impairment(alcohol)
  • Pilot in command › Impairment(drugs)
  • Pilot in command › Judgment, poor
  • Pilot in command › Proper altitude, not maintained

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

AFTER AN EVENING OF SOCIALIZING, THE PLT & PAX ELECTED TO GO ON A LOCAL FLT IN THE EARLY MORNING HRS BEFORE SUNRISE. THEY TOOK THE HELICOPTER (N26198) WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORIZATION & TOOK OFF DRG DARKNESS. A SHORT TIME LATER, THE HELICOPTER WAS OBSERVED FLYING AT LOW ALTITUDE IN AN ERRACTIC MANNER. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT COLLIDED WITH A POWER LINE, THEN HIT THE ROOF OF A BUILDING, CRASHED TO THE GROUND & BURNED. NO PREEXISTING AIRFRAME OR ENGINE MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DRG THE INVESTIGATION. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS OF BLOOD & URINE SAMPLES WERE MADE. THE CHECKS SHOWED THE PLT & PAX HAD BLOOD/ALCOHOL LEVELS OF 0.17% & 0.11% (GRAMS%), RESPECTIVELY. A DRUG SCREEN OF FLUID FROM THE PLT SHOWED COCAINE/BENZOYLECGONINE LEVELS OF 0.19 MG/L. TOXICOLOGY CHECKS CONCERNING THE PAX WERE NEGATIVE FOR DRUGS.

Probable cause

POOR JUDGEMENT OF THE PILOT BY FLYING WHILE PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED FROM CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL & DRUGS, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE. THE LIGHT CONDITION (AT NIGHT) AND THE OBSTRUCTIONS (POWER LINES AND BUILDING) WERE CONSIDERED TO BE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record LAX89FA165
Event ID
20001213X28110
Case number
LAX89FA165
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: f7ab93233a28b9e37d1c010517b7fc5969524c895e1737995ce8f7238af5a904; retrieved 2026-09-21T03:20:31.475Z.