What happened
On June 22, 2009, a Eurocopter AS350B3, registered as EC-IOJ, was involved in an accident during a fire extinguishing mission in Barcelona, Spain. The aircraft was in the process of refilling its fire attack system with water.
Witness accounts indicate that after the refill operation was finished, the helicopter began to climb to resume its mission. During this climb, the water tank unloaded, causing the cable link to the tank to rebound and coil into the main rotor system. This led to an immediate emergency descent, and the aircraft impacted the terrain. The accident resulted in 2 fatal injuries.