Accident Sequence
A helicopter struck a powerline transmission tower while towing a cable attached via a cargo hook. The aircraft was moving laterally toward the tower when its main rotor blades made contact. The impact caused a blade tip weight to separate and penetrate the tail boom in two locations, damaging the tail rotor drive shaft. The helicopter then executed two right spins in a slow descent, remaining tethered by the steel cable. During the second rotation, components of the tail rotor detached.
Post-Impact Observations
Witnesses reported no observation of the cable being jettisoned during the sequence of events. The aircraft descended under the restraint of the cable, which remained connected throughout the spins.
Pilot and Company Information
The pilot had been recently hired and possessed no prior Class C external load experience. Training was provided by the company’s chief pilot, who departed the organization three days after the pilot’s hiring. This departure left the pilot to operate without supervision.
Regulatory Communication
The FAA office holding the operator’s certificate was notified of the chief pilot’s departure. That office did not, nor was it required to, alert the local FAA district office regarding the operator’s external load operations within that district’s geographic area of responsibility.