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| Date: | Friday 7 February 2003 |
| Time: | 09:09 LT |
| Type: |  Aerospatiale AS-350BII |
| Owner/operator: | Les Helicopteres Abitibi Ltd. |
| Registration: | CFLHA |
| MSN: | 2480 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1991 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7275 hours |
| Engine model: | Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Vernal, Utah -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Vernal , UT |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The pilot performed a normal helicopter departure with a longline attached. He reported he forgot that the longline was attached and he did a normal takeoff. He felt a jerk and heard a bang, and the helicopter began to rotate. Postimpact examination of the tail rotor assembly reveled that the longline was entangled in its shaft. Additionally, the tail rotor drive shaft was found separated.
Probable Cause: The pilot's inadequate planning resulting in his inattentiveness of the attached longline. Contributing factors were the entanglement of the longline in the tail rotor, failure of the tail rotor drive shaft, and subsequent inability of the pilot to control the aircraft.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DEN03LA041
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Oct-2022 17:59 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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