Recent Accidents & Incidents

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The rotorcraft accidents and incidents listed below occurred between Apr. 1 and Jun. 30, 2020. The accident details shown below are preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. All information was obtained through the official websites listed below, where you can learn more details about each event.

Australia – Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)
Britain – Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB)
Canada – Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC)
New Zealand – Transport Accident Investigation Commission of New Zealand (TAIC)
United States – National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

April 2020

Robinson R22
Seymour, TX, USA
Apr. 6, 2020 | NTSB CEN20CA144
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage after tail rotor struck tree branch during agricultural operation.

Robinson R44
Hillsboro, OR, USA
Apr. 6, 2020 | NTSB WPR20LA119
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage after loss of engine power and autorotation to paved taxiway.

Aérospatiale SA 341
Fort Myers, FL, USA
Apr. 9, 2020 | NTSB ERA20CA181
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | General aviation flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage consistent with hard landing.

Garlick UH-1H
Curepto, Chile
Apr. 20, 2020 | NTSB ERA20WA154
0 injuries, 1 fatality | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Sikorsky S-61
Camp Dwyer, Afghanistan
Apr. 20, 2020 | NTSB DCA20LA100
3 injuries, 0 fatalities | Air taxi flight
Helicopter experienced loss of control in flight and rolled onto its side during emergency landing.

Bell 206L-1
Moa Island, Queensland, Australia
Apr. 22, 2020 | ATSB AO-2020-023
3 injuries, 0 fatalities | Commercial flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage after impacting terrain for undetermined reasons.

Robinson R22
Caldwell, ID, USA
Apr. 22, 2020 | NTSB WPR20CA140
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Instructional flight
Helicopter experienced hard landing during autorotation training.

Bell UH-1H
Mesa, AZ, USA
Apr. 24, 2020 | NTSB WPR20LA130
1 injuries, 1 fatality | General aviation flight
Helicopter impacted terrain after in-flight separation of tail rotor and loss of control.

Hughes 369
Pylesville, MD, USA
Apr. 25, 2020 | NTSB ERA20LA160
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | External load flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage after loss of engine power and an autorotative landing and rollover.

May 2020

MD Helicopters MD 369E
Houston, TX, USA
May 2, 2020 | NTSB CEN20LA167
1 injury, 1 fatality | Search-and-rescue flight
Helicopter impacted building and terrain during evening search-and-rescue mission.

Bell UH-1N
Baghdad, Iraq
May 10, 2020 | NTSB ERA20CA191
Injuries unknown, fatalities unknown | Flight type unknown
No description available.

Bell OH-58C
Livingston, NY, USA
May 14, 2020 | NTSB ERA20CA184
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter struck a tree and impacted terrain while performing nighttime low-altitude maneuvers.

RotorWay Exec
Rochester, IN, USA
May 16, 2020 | NTSB CEN20CA180
1 injury, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter experienced loss of control in flight, resulting in dynamic rollover and main rotor damage.

Bell OH-58A
West Branch, MI, USA
May 20, 2020 | NTSB CEN20LA187
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage during precautionary autorotative landing.

Bell 206
Elko, NV, USA
May 30, 2020 | NTSB WPR20CA162
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | General aviation flight
Helicopter struck a fence, impacted terrain, and rolled over following loss of control in flight.

Schweizer 269C-1
Ozark, AL, USA
May 30, 2020 | NTSB ERA20LA197
0 injuries, 1 fatality | Instructional flight
Helicopter lost power for undetermined reasons, impacted terrain, and was destroyed.

June 2020

Bell 206
Fairfield, CA, USA
Jun. 2, 2020 | NTSB WPR20LA163
0 injuries, 3 fatalities | External load flight
During human external cargo operation, helicopter struck a power line, impacted terrain, and rolled downhill.

Enstrom 480
Murphy, ID, USA
Jun. 4, 2020 | NTSB WPR20CA171
Injuries unknown, fatalities unknown | Agricultural flight
No description available.

Bell 47G
Atoka, TN, USA
Jun. 14, 2020 | NTSB ERA20LA216
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Personal flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage following total loss of engine power and autorotative landing.

Robinson R22
El Campo, TX, USA
Jun. 16, 2020 | NTSB CEN20CA230
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Agricultural flight
Helicopter impacted terrain during low-altitude aerial application.

Bell 206
Gauteng, South Africa
Jun. 17, 2020 | NTSB WPR20WA186
0 injuries, 2 fatalities | General aviation flight
No description available.

Robinson R66
Pikeville, NC, USA
Jun. 18, 2020 | NTSB ERA20LA220
0 injuries, 1 fatality | Agricultural flight
Helicopter struck nonenergized wire and impacted terrain during low-altitude aerial application.

Leonardo AW139
Dayboro, Queensland, Australia
Jun. 20, 2020 | ATSB AO-2020-031
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Air medical flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage when its main rotor blades struck a tree during winching operations.

Schweizer 269C
Sheffield, TX, USA
Jun. 21, 2020 | NTSB CEN20CA240
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Aerial observation flight
Helicopter sustained substantial damage after striking a fence and impacting terrain during low-altitude inspection flight.

Bell 407
Long Marston, England
Jun. 24, 2020 | NTSB CEN20WA246
0 injuries, 0 fatalities | Commercial flight
No description available.