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Atlas / NTSB / LAX85LA299

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event LAX85LA299

1985-06-28 GRAND CANYON, Arizona, United States Airport · GCN Minor 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

DURING A MOVIE FILMING FLIGHT, THE HELICOPTER WAS ACTING AS THE CAMERA PLATFORM AND FILMING A FIXED WING AIRCRAFT DURING A STRAIGHT IN APPRAOCH TO THE AIRPORT, THE PLT OF THE HELICOPTER REQUESTED A RIGHT 180 DEGREE TURN AT MID FIELD TO LAND AT THE NORTH HELIPAD RAMP AREA. WITNESSES SAW THE HELICOPTER START AN 'ABRUPT CLIMBING RIGHT TURN,' THEN YAW AS IT DESCENDED INTO THE GROUND. THE HELICOPTER ROLLED OVER ON TOUCHDOWN WITH THE SLOPING GROUND AT THE NORTH AIRPORT BOUNDARY. THE PILOT STATED THEREWERE NO MALFUNCTIONS OR FAILURES OF THE HELICOPTER AND THAT HE ENCOUNTERED A 'LOSS OF TAIL ROTOR EFFECTIVENESS'DURING THE TURN TO THE LANDING AREA. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1985_LAX85LA299.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.