The pilot of a Bell 407 was on an approach to land in Hickory, Kentucky, U.S., on July 11, 2016, when the main rotor suddenly tilted to the right, and the helicopter banked right and crashed to the ground, killing the pilot.
Maintenance had been performed 38 flight hours before the accident and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the probable cause was the “inappropriate removal without replacement of the safety wires on the collective lever pin screws.” The screws gradually backed out, resulting in a loss of collective control.
The flight began in Knoxville, Tennessee, at 1048 local time, stopped for refueling at Outlaw Field Airport in Clarksville, Tennessee, and took off again, bound for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Mayfield Customer Service Center in Hickory, where the pilot planned to pick up a maintenance lineman and then to proceed on an inspection of TVA power lines and equipment.
A lineman who witnessed the accident said the 407 appea…
