Incident Overview
During a Christmas tree harvest operation, a helicopter was being used to reposition trees from the harvest field to a load truck. The pilot employed an 18-foot tag line to lift and place the trees into the truck bed. Prior to the incident, the pilot had successfully completed at least five loads.
Accident Sequence
On the accident load, the pilot had just released the tree into the truck when he perceived that the helicopter was encountering a settling with power condition. In response, he attempted to maneuver the helicopter to land on the road in front of the load truck. The pilot believed he had cleared the truck, but the main rotor blades struck the truck just above the cab. Following the blade strike, the helicopter impacted the ground, and the main rotor blades separated the tail boom.
Post-Impact Assessment
The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter or engine that would have precluded normal operations. No other contributing factors were identified in the report.