The pilot of the McDonnell Douglas 500N police helicopter was performing right turns above a fight on the ground when the helicopter entered a spin and — despite the pilot’s efforts to stop the rotation — descended into Newport Bay in Newport Beach, California, U.S.
The police tactical flight officer (TFO) was killed and the pilot received minor injuries in the Feb. 19, 2022, crash, which caused substantial damage to the helicopter, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said.
In its final report, the NTSB said the probable cause of the accident was the helicopter’s “encounter with unanticipated right yaw during a low-altitude, low-airspeed, tight-radius orbit.” Contributing factors were the pilot’s “distraction during the orbit, which resulted in the loss of control, his fatigue due to his early wake time and time since awakening, and the lack of external cues that hindered his ability to perform a recovery.”
The report noted …
