Incident Details
During the preflight inspection of the helicopter, the pilot placed a flashlight on the tailboom strake. While performing the inspection, the pilot's attention was diverted by a mechanic, and he subsequently failed to remove the flashlight from the tailboom before departing.
After takeoff, the helicopter experienced a noticeable vibration. In response, the pilot performed a precautionary landing in a field. Following the landing, a thorough inspection of the helicopter was conducted.
Findings
The inspection revealed that the flashlight had struck and damaged both the main rotor blades and the tail rotor blades. The damage was directly attributed to the flashlight being left on the tailboom strake during flight.