NTSB CAROL · Event
Event GAA17CA383
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s distraction during liftoff due to the tail rotor chip warning light illuminating, which resulted in the helicopter drifting right, the skid touching down, and a dynamic roll-over.
Factual narrative
The helicopter pilot reported that during lift off, the tail rotor chip warning light illuminated, "and distracted me for a moment." The helicopter drifted to the right, the right skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter rolled over on to its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor drive shaft, the horizontal stabilizer and the main rotor blades. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The helicopter pilot reported that, during liftoff, the tail rotor chip warning light illuminated "and distracted me for a moment." The helicopter drifted to the right, the right skid contacted the ground, and the helicopter rolled over onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tail rotor drive shaft, the horizontal stabilizer, and the main rotor blades. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2017_GAA17CA383.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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