What happened
While operating a public use helicopter, the pilot attempted to land a firefighting crew in a confined area located off-airport, near an active fire line. During the landing maneuver, the main rotor blade struck a tree. The pilot was unaware of the impact at the time of the incident.
After completing the landing and off-loading the crew, the pilot continued to fly the aircraft for approximately 30 minutes. Upon returning to the same site to recover the firefighters, the crew informed the pilot that they had observed a rotor blade strike on a tree during the initial landing.
The investigation
Following the report from the crew, the pilot inspected the aircraft's rotor blades. This inspection revealed that one of the main rotor blades had sustained a gash affecting both the skin and the internal honeycomb structure. The impact resulted in substantial damage to the blade.