Sikorsky S-64E N6979R

Summary

On 8 July 2003 at about 01:34 local time, a Sikorsky S-64E registered N6979R was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2003 at 01:34

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

32.1000, -110.9333

Aircraft

Sikorsky S-64E

Registration

N6979R

Category

Helicopter

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

Purpose of flight

Public Use

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Sabino Helispot

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX03TA229

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain tail rotor clearance while hovering resulting in a tail rotor blade strike.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

After a series of water drops were conducted on a forest fire, the helicopter's crew refilled the fixed tank with water from a dip tank via a snorkel. The dip tank was located in mountainous terrain and there were two mesquite trees near the tank. During the refilling operation, the tail rotor blades contacted the trees; however, the flight crew was unaware of the strike. The tail rotor blade damage was noticed when ground personnel detected damage to the number one exhaust stack, and the helicopter was inspected further. One of the four tail rotor blades incurred spar damage on the leading edge, approximately 14.5 inches from the tip end.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.