No fatalities

Helicopter Collision with Trees During Low-Altitude Deer Capture

Harper, TX, United States

On October 24, 2014, a ROBINSON HELICOPTER R44 UNDESIGNAT operated by Exotic Game Management was involved in an aviation accident near Harper, TX. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The tail rotor hit a tree while maneuvering, causing the helicopter to spin to the right and impact trees and the ground. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

A helicopter carrying a pilot and a passenger conducting low-altitude deer capture operations collided with trees and the ground after the tail rotor struck a tree during maneuvering.

Incident Overview and Operations Context The accident involved a helicopter operating at a low altitude while the pilot and a passenger, who was acting as a shooter, were conducting deer capture operations. The specific aircraft type, registration, operator, date, and location are not provided in the source material. ## Sequence of Events The pilot reported hearing a noise and feeling a shudder in the helicopter. Following this, the helicopter began spinning to the right and subsequently impacted trees and the ground. ## Pilot Statement and Reported Cause The pilot stated that there was no malfunction with the helicopter. According to the pilot, the tail rotor hit a tree while maneuvering, which led to the collision with trees and the ground.

Probable cause

The tail rotor hit a tree while maneuvering, causing the helicopter to spin to the right and impact trees and the ground.

Contributing factors

Causes

Altitude — Not attained/maintained

Other contributing factors

Pilot