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NYC06CA020

2005-11-01 · Bourne, Massachusetts, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport FMH

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The inadvertent contact of a lift strap with the tail rotor during external load operations, which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent collision with terrain. A factor in this accident was the gusty wind conditions.

Factual narrative

The pilot was conducting external load operations, when a gust of wind blew lifting strap into the tail rotor. The helicopter began to shudder, and rotate to the left. The pilot entered an autorotation; however, during landing, the helicopter rolled over onto it's left side. Winds reported at an airport located about 4 miles east-southeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, were from 200 degrees at 17 knots, with 23 knot gusts. The pilot was conducting external load operations, when a gust of wind blew the lifting strap into the tail rotor. The helicopter began to shudder, and rotate to the left. The pilot entered an autorotation; however, during landing, the helicopter rolled over onto its left side. Winds reported at an airport located about 4 miles east-southeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, were from 200 degrees at 17 knots, with 23 knot gusts. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2005_NYC06CA020.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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