Helicopter Crews Uninjured in San Diego Mid-Air Collision | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Thu, Nov 24, 2022

Helicopter Crews Uninjured in San Diego Mid-Air Collision

Seahawk and Blackhawk Land Safely

Two helicopters—a U.S. Navy MH-60R Seahawk and a privately owned UH-60A Firehawk used by San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to fight fires—suffered a mid-air collision over Brown Field (SDM) in San Diego's Otay Mesa neighborhood. The incident occurred Tuesday, 22 November 2022 at approximately 17:50 PST. Both aircraft and the entirety of their combined five crew-members—by dint of a baffling surfeit of good fortune—landed safely.

First responders from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and Cal Fire San Diego responded to reports of an aircraft accident at Brown Field just after 18:00 PST. The majority of the units were released shortly after arriving, however, on account of the incident’s providential outcome.

Navy officials report the two helicopters were taking part in a night training exercise.

Ensign Bryan Blair, spokesman for Commander, Naval Air Forces, summarized the incident thus: "Tonight, an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter attached to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 41 made an emergency landing at Brown Field in San Diego after experiencing a collision with a helicopter assigned to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection during a flight for a night training event. Both aircraft landed safely and there were no injuries to personnel. The incident is under investigation.”

A San Diego Gas & Electric official added: "We have been made aware of the incident by our contractor who owns and operates the aircraft and the most important thing is that all parties are safe."

The FAA initially reported that the incident had involved a U.S. Forest Service firefighting aircraft. The agency later confirmed it had erred, conceding its own records showed N160AQ—the tail number of the non-Navy aircraft—is assigned to a privately owned helicopter contracted by SDG&E for firefighting purposes.

In an August 2019 press release, SDG&E described N160AQ as "an additional fire suppression helicopter [that] has been contracted for year-round, rapid response dispatch by CAL FIRE."

The extent to which the two helicopters were damaged in the collision remains unknown.

That part of Brown Field over which the incident occurred will remain closed at the discretion of FAA and NTSB investigators.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Advertisement

More News

KidVenture Educational Activities Lineup At EAA AirVenture 2025

Youth Explore With Hands-On Builds, RC Airplanes, Flight Sims, Much More KidVenture is located just north of the EAA Aviation Museum, at Pioneer Airport, and has arranged a myriad >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.07.25)

“About nine decades ago, Amelia Earhart was recruited to Purdue, and the university president later worked with her to prepare an aircraft for her historic flight around the >[...]

Airborne 07.07.25: Sully v Bedford, RAF Vandalism, Discovery Moving?

Also: New Amelia Search, B737 Flap Falls Off, SUN ‘n FUN Unveiling, F-16 Record Captain Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who saved 155 people by safely landing an A320 in the Hu>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.08.25)

"It is critically important for North American flight safety that Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) violations are avoided. All pilots must familiarize themselves with updates to >[...]

Airborne-NextGen 07.08.25: Joby in Dubai, Army Electra, Archer iin Abu Dhabi

Also: Hackers v Aviation, Discovery Moving?, Gogo Galileo HDX, EVE to Costa Rica Joby Aviation announced its electric air taxi successfully completed a series of VTOL wingborne tri>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC