ANC98LA003

The helicopter was being landed after completion of an external load lift. The long line suspended from the helicopter became entangled in a tree. The tail rotor subsequently became entangled in the long line. The pilot stated that the helicopter landed hard, and the tail boom, tail rotor, and tail gear box sustained damage.

On October 15, 1997, about 1030 Alaska daylight time, a Bell 206-B2, high skid equipped helicopter, N86TA, sustained substantial damage when its tail rotor became entangled in a long line suspended from the helicopter. The commercial certificated pilot, and two persons on the ground, were uninjured. The helicopter was operated by Trans Alaska Helicopters, Inc., of Anchorage, Alaska. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 133, conducting external loads one mile east of the Jonesville Mine, Sutton, Alaska. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, with twenty knot winds gusting to twenty-five knots. A company VFR flight plan was filed.

The pilot stated in his NTSB Pilot/Operator Report, that after completing an external load, the helicopter was being landed from a hover. The hook at the end of the fifty foot long line was on the ground, and the long line cable became entangled in a tree. The tail rotor subsequently became entangled in the long line. The helicopter landed hard on sloping terrain, and remained upright. The tail boom, tail rotor, and tail rotor gear box were damaged.