Magnum PI Helicopter
August16
The opening scene in Magnum PI, where the helicopter comes across the screen has always fascinated me. Ever since that show came out, I thought it would be cool to take a helicopter tour in Hawaii. I’ve noticed that there are still some hobbyists that love the Magnum PI Helicopter which was a Hughes 500D. I have seen a few examples of people that have purchased model RC helicopters and painted them the same orange, brown, red and yellow colors of the helicopter piloted by TC on the show.
I never could find out what happened to the original helicopter.
I just saw it crash in an accident on the “Destroyed in Seconds” show on the Discovery Channel due to metal shavings interfering with the controls.
Greeting’s,
I am currently employed at Alex Air Helicopter Tours of Maui. This is the story that is told around Helicopter Company’s here on Maui.
There were at least two 500D’s used for the TV show. I am told that Alex Air has one of them. It is used to for air tour’s of Maui and is to be fitted for float’s so we can start taking it to Molokai. We also do tour’s in it where we can take the door’s off. It is painted in the same pattern as on Magnum PI but different color’s. Orange, Yellow and Red.
Check out Alex Air’s website.
Believe nothing of what you read and half of what you see.
The original Helo used in the TV Series was a Hughes 500 ‘D’ model. Later, McDonnell Douglas took over Hughes aircraft and the model was redesignated as the MD500.
The helo that crashed on ‘Destroyed in Seconds’ was a McDonnell Douglas 369D. It was not the original helo used in the TV series, it just had a similar paint scheme. This paint scheme was a factory option, so it wss not unique.
Several choppers were used in the series, not just one. Early in the first season a 369D was used, but later models were 500’s.
You can read more about the Magnum Choppers and pilots here:
http://magnum-mania.com/Articles/The_Chopper.html
The NTSB reports of the helo that crashed on ‘Destroyed in Seconds’ with pilot Steve Kux can be read here:
Probable Cause:
http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001213X25726&key=1
Factual Report (PDF)
http://ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=LAX88LA179&rpt=fa
I really did like that show, just as I like “Jesse Stone” the new TV movie with Tom Selleck. He has aged a bit but then haven’t we all?
I was wondering if that scene could now be shot using an RC helicopter?
This helicopter did NOT crash and has been and is currently being used by a electric utility company in Kentucky to inspect power lines. I know because the helcopter has been on lease with my company since the 1990s and I just finished as an observer on a flight just today when I ran across this story. The logbooks show it specifically and the helicopter was used in another hollywood series but didn’t get the name on that one.
I found this info at the link above (magnum mania)
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The show used several different Hughes 500-series choppers for filming (and a 369D early in the first season), each with a slightly different setup and look. The main differences were with regards to the tail and skids – T-tailed (500D), Y-tailed (500C), high skids, short skids, skids with floats, and gray and tan interiors were all used in various configurations. The T-tailed/short skid setup (the 500D) was by far the most commonly seen in the show.
Several different pilots were used in the show, including Marc Wolff, Steve Kux (also Aerial Coordinator) and J. David Jones (also Aerial Coordinator). Steve Kux logged the most flight time on the show. On May 13th, 1988, two weeks after the series finale aired, Steve Kux was seriously injured after crashing a 369D (N4943T) into a drainage ditch in Waialua. Steve was pinned in the cockpit, and partially under water, when local Hawaiian “Tiny” Amarel heroically lifted up the front end of the chopper so he could be pulled out! The incident was dramatically caught on film and can be seen in several outlets, including the Discovery Channel’s Destroyed in Seconds TV show. Steve recovered from the crash, but he lost the use of his left arm and had to retire from flying. The NTSB report can be found here. N4943T was used in several episodes of Magnum P.I., including “The People vs. Orville Wright” (7.21) & “The Love That Lies” (8.6).
Chopper Surprise!
In Flight
During the filming of “Skin Deep” (1.6), in a low-flying aerial sequence, a Hughes 369D (N58243) helicopter crashed into the ocean, tragically killing cameraman Robert Van Der Kar (and injuring the pilot Robert Sanders). N58243 was the chopper with floatation gear and long skids seen in the opening credits and in the first several episodes. The official NTSB report finds the cause as pilot error, a misjudgement in altitude. The episode contains an “In Memoriam” caption in his honor.
I saw a Hughes 500D in the hangar at Gerorgetown Airport, in Georgetown, Kentucky, the day I passed my Private Airplane license, October 16th 1997.
It was painted different, but it had the same tail number. I guy who worked at the airport took me in the hangar and told me it was one of the original helicopters used in the t.v. show Magnum P.I.
So, this confirms what Marty said earlier that it is currently being used by a electric utility company in Kentucky to inspect power lines. I will go through my old photos to see if I can find a pic of it.
So, as of October 16th 1997 the Magnum P.I. Hughes 500D was in a hangar in Georgetown, Kentucky.
it’s in Georgetown Ky
I work for a electric utility coop in Kentucky, the company that owns the helo is under contract with my company. It and another 500 are used for routine power line patrol