Event WPR24LA036

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he was relocating bundles of trees from the harvest field onto a truck bed. Approximately 30 minutes into the operation, the load hook did not immediately release when he was setting a bundle down. The pilot pressed the release button multiple times, as he had done in similar situations in the past. The helicopter’s momentum, as it moved back towards the field, caused the bundle to slide a few feet. One of the main rotor blades then struck the tail boom, and the other blade flapped down, cutting off the rear section of the tail boom, vertical stabilizer, and tail rotor. The helicopter spun several times before landing, resting flat on the skids. The landing impact was forceful enough to break the mast and dislodge the main transmission. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the main rotor, tail boom, vertical stabilizer, tail rotor, and transmission. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. 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).

• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained