Incident Overview
A helicopter accident occurred during loading with the engines running. The flight crew were at the controls when the incident happened.
Sequence of Events
Initially, four passengers were escorted to the helicopter by a customer service agent. As the four boarded through the left side, the agent collected their carry-on baggage. After they had boarded, the agent left the passenger door open, anticipating a fifth passenger. The agent then carried the baggage around to the right side of the helicopter and loaded it into the baggage compartment.
After loading the baggage, the agent returned to the left side and helped load the fifth passenger, who had been escorted by a second agent. The first agent then took a position near the left main landing gear. Reportedly, the first four passengers were still on board when the fifth passenger boarded.
Once the fifth passenger was seated and secured, the second agent leaned forward to the copilot's door to inform the copilot of the additional weight. After a brief conversation with the copilot, she turned back to close the passenger door.
At approximately that time, another helicopter pilot observed one of the first four passengers walking toward the tail of the helicopter. That pilot began to transmit a warning to the pilot of the helicopter. However, before the call was completed, the passenger walked into the tail rotor.