What happened
On September 30, 2010, a Eurocopter EC130 B4, registration N822MH, was involved in an accident during an attempted departure from a remote landing site near Meadview, Arizona. The aircraft was operating a Grand Canyon sightseeing flight for Maverick Helicopters.
The flight included a stop at an unattended, remote landing site equipped with picnic tables and umbrellas. After the passengers reboarded, the pilot started the engine and lifted the helicopter into a hover approximately 2 to 3 feet above the ground. To avoid interfering with the flight path of another helicopter in the area, the pilot held the aircraft in a hover for a short period before translating forward and to the right to perform a right pedal turn for departure.
During this maneuver, the pilot experienced a loud bang, a decrease in rotor RPM, and a loss of tail rotor effectiveness. The pilot immediately landed the helicopter. A post-flight inspection revealed that the cloth canopy of an umbrella had been partially ingested by the tail rotor.
There were no injuries to the pilot or the six passengers on board.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft's onboard video imaging system, which recorded the takeoff, the maneuver, and the ingestion event. The video confirmed that the helicopter yawed approximately 75 degrees during the sequence and showed that the electrical power fluctuated during the event.
Mechanical analysis of the N822MH showed substantial damage to the tail rotor, the fenestron (shrouded tail rotor) housing, and the tail rotor drive components. Several tail rotor blades were deformed, and the fenestron sustained multiple fractures and penetrations. No pre-existing mechanical failures or deficiencies were found that would have prevented normal operation.
Regarding the landing site, investigators noted the area had no designated or marked landing zones, and the pilot had positioned the aircraft closer to the tables and umbrellas than usual. While the pilot stated that fatigue was a contributing factor, the NTSB found insufficient evidence to confirm this claim.