Lyons, OR, USA
N1611W
McDonnell Douglas 369E
The pilot said that he was moving Christmas trees during harvesting operations. He said that one of the two slings holding the load failed, and as the trees fell to the ground, the second sling "popped" into his rotor head. The pilot said that both the cyclic and collective were severed, and he lost all flight control. An autorotation was not possible and the helicopter fell to the ground and came to rest on its right side.
On November 22, 2006, at approximately 1500 Pacific standard time, a McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter, N1611W, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Lyons, Oregon. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant in the helicopter, was not injured. The flight was being operated by Menasha Forest Management Services LLC under Title 14 CFR Part 133. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local external-load flight that originated at approximately 1455 from an off field refueling location. No flight plan had been filed. The pilot said that he was moving Christmas trees during harvesting operations. He said that one of the two slings holding the load failed, and as the trees fell to the ground, the second sling "popped" into his rotor head. The pilot said that both the cyclic and collective were severed, and he lost all flight control. An autorotation was not possible and the helicopter fell to the ground and came to rest on its right side.
A severing of the helicopter's cyclic and collective rods by one of the load lifting slings following the failure of the other sling. A contributing factor was the hard landing due to the fact that an autorotation was not possible.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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