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SEA89LA088

1989-05-17 · KETCHIKAN, Alaska, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

THE PILOT MISJUDGING CLEARANCE FROM TREES DURING A HOVER DESCENT.

Factual narrative

DURING HOVER DESCENT TO PICK UP A LOAD OF LOGS WHILE CONDUCTING HELICOPTER LOGGING OPERATIONS, THE PILOT INADVERTENTLY CONTACTED A TREE WITH THE TAIL ROTOR. THE HELICOPTER SUBSEQUENTLY COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1989_SEA89LA088.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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