A Hydro One helicopter crashed near Tweed on December 14, 2017, killing four people. (Photo: Flickr / Transportation Safety Board of Canada)
A preliminary report by the Transportation Safety Board says a damaged tail rotor is likely what caused a Hydro One helicopter to crash near Tweed last week, killing four people.
During its initial investigation the TSB says it found evidence that an equipment bag, being transported on a platform attached to the chopper, came loose and hit the tail rotor, while the pilot was carrying three linemen from a hydro tower, to a staging area a short way away.
When the pilot attempted to land, he lost control and all three workers were thrown from the helicopter, which crashed nearby.
The remains of a canvas equipment bag, that investigators say, came loose off a platform and damaged the tail rotor of a helicopter that crashed near Tweed. ((Photo: Flickr / Transportation Safety Board of Canada)
The report says weather was not a factor and that two of three passengers’ seatbelts were found to be unfastened.
The chopper was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder, but did have a GPS unit, which investigators are using to find out more about the crash.
The TSB is now reminding helicopter operators to secure all cargo and all passengers to wear seatbelts.
You can click here to read the full TSB report to date and click here to see more TSB photos from the crash site and investigation.
A map of the helicopter crash site, near Tweed, which killed four Hydro One workers. (Photo: Flickr / Transportation Safety Board of Canada)
