ANC02TA077

The pilot of the public use helicopter was landing a fire fighting crew in a confined, off-airport area near a fire line. During the landing, he unknowingly struck a tree with a main rotor blade, which resulted in substantial damage to the blade. He off-loaded the fire crew, and continued to fly the helicopter for approximately 30 minutes. When he returned to the accident site to recover the fire fighters, they told him that they had discovered a rotor blade strike on a tree. The pilot examined the rotor blades, and found that a main rotor blade had a gash in the skin and internal honeycomb structure.

On July 15, 2002, about 1740 Alaska daylight time, a Bell 212 helicopter, N5017H, owned by Evergreen Equity, Inc., McMinnville, Oregon, and operated by the State of Alaska under an exclusive use extended contract, sustained substantial damage during an off-airport landing when a main rotor blade struck a tree. The airline transport certificated pilot and the five passengers aboard were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, public use flight, and company flight-following procedures were in effect. The accident occurred about 4 miles northwest of Wasilla, Alaska.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge on July 15, the director of operations for Evergreen Helicopters, the provider of the helicopter and the pilot, related that the pilot told him he unknowingly struck a tree while landing in a confined area near a fire line with five fire fighters aboard. He departed the landing site and continued to fly the accident helicopter for approximately 30 minutes. When he landed again at the accident site, the fire fighters told the pilot they discovered that he had struck a tree on his previous landing. The pilot inspected the main rotor blades, and found a gash in the skin of one blade that penetrated into the blade's honeycomb structure.

The NTSB investigator-in-charge was able to inspect the accident helicopter's rotor blades after they were removed from the helicopter and returned to Anchorage, Alaska. The damaged blade had an approximate 10-inch lengthwise tear that penetrated into the honeycomb structure of the blade. A subsequent discussion with personnel at the helicopter blade repair shop repairing the blade, disclosed that the damaged portions of the honeycomb structure and blade skin were removed, and replaced with new honeycomb and blade skin.