Los Angeles Airways Flight 417 - History

History

Los Angeles Airways (LAA) Flight 417 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles International Airport to the Disneyland Heliport in Anaheim, California. The aircraft and crew had completed three round trips to various destinations in the Greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area beginning at 0607 PDT and departed the ramp at Los Angeles for Flight 417 at 1026. The flight, operating under Visual Flight Rules was cleared by Los Angeles Helicopter Control to take off and proceed eastbound at 10:28:15. At 10:29:30 the flight reported to Hawthorne Tower that it was departing Los Angeles eastbound along Imperial Highway at 1,200 feet (370 m). At 10:32:55 Helicopter Control advised, "L.A. four seventeen, seven miles east, radar service terminated." The flight acknowledged, "Four seventeen thank you." This was the last known radio contact with the flight.

Statements were obtained from 91 witnesses. A consensus of their observations indicates that the helicopter was proceeding along a normal flightpath when a loud noise or unusual sound was heard. A main rotor blade was either observed to separate or was seen separated in the vicinity of the main rotor disc. As the helicopter fell in variously described gyrations, the tail cone either folded or separated. In order to establish an approximate altitude for the flight, several simulated flights were conducted in a similar helicopter. Most witnesses indicated the flights at 1,200 feet (370 m) to 1,500 feet (460 m) appeared to be most accurate.