What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Helicopter arrived at a landing zone planning to conduct part 133 external load cargo operations. The pilot landed the helicopter and commenced shutdown procedures with the helicopter in the low RPM flight idle position for cool down. During the cool down period, a ground crew person who was located at the FAR edge of the landing zone removed a weight from a large empty fabric cargo bag. The atmospheric winds gusting to approximately 30 knots lifted the bag from the surface when the ground crew person removed the weight. The bag blew toward the helicopter and caught on the outer tip of the main rotor blade. The pilot immediately pulled the mixture to shut the helicopter down. Inspection revealed damage to the main rotor blade resulting in an unairworthy condition.
As the FAA filed it
HELICOPTER ARRIVED AT A LANDING ZONE PLANNING TO CONDUCT PART 133 EXTERNAL LOAD CARGO OPERATIONS. THE PILOT LANDED THE HELICOPTER AND COMMENCED SHUTDOWN PROCEDURES WITH THE HELICOPTER IN THE LOW RPM FLIGHT IDLE POSITION FOR COOL DOWN. DURING THE COOL DOWN PERIOD, A GROUND CREW PERSON WHO WAS LOCATED AT THE FAR EDGE OF THE LANDING ZONE REMOVED A WEIGHT FROM A LARGE EMPTY FABRIC CARGO BAG. THE ATMOSPHERIC WINDS GUSTING TO APPROXIMATELY 30 KNOTS LIFTED THE BAG FROM THE SURFACE WHEN THE GROUND CREW PERSON REMOVED THE WEIGHT. THE BAG BLEW TOWARD THE HELICOPTER AND CAUGHT ON THE OUTER TIP OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE. THE PILOT IMMEDIATELY PULLED THE MIXTURE TO SHUT THE HELICOPTER DOWN. INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE RESULTING IN AN UNAIRWORTHY CONDITION.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.