Helicopter Was Transporting Supplies Using A Long Line For A Hotshot Firefighting Crew

Location: Payson, AZ Accident Number: WPR20LA211
Date & Time: 07/07/2020, 1213 MST Registration: N623PB
Aircraft: BELL UH1H Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load

On July 7, 2020, about 1213 mountain standard time, a Bell/Garlick UH-1H helicopter, N623PB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Payson, Arizona. The pilot was fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 external load flight.

The helicopter was owned by Airwest Helicopters LLC and operated by the United States Forest Service at the time of the accident. According to witnesses, the helicopter was transporting supplies using a long line for a hotshot firefighting crew that were repositioning on the ground. The pilot transported three loads to the new destination uneventfully prior to the accident and had been using an indirect route to the north to avoid a fire area.

While transporting the fourth load, witnesses observed the helicopter begin to fly erratically while enroute to its destination. During this time, a witness stated that he observed the helicopter enter a high nose-up pitch attitude and the external payload began to swing. The helicopter then displayed irregular movements for several seconds before the external payload settled and the helicopter appeared to stabilize. However, after about 3 seconds, multiple witnesses observed the helicopter wobble and bank erratically before it entered a steep nose up attitude and then descended rapidly. The witnesses did not observe the helicopter on fire during the accident flight, nor did the pilot report any anomalies over the helicopter crew's common air-to-ground radio frequency or any other assigned frequencies for the fire.

The helicopter wreckage came to rest about 0.5 nm north of its drop off destination, oriented on a heading of 074° magnetic and was mostly consumed by postcrash fire. All major structural components of the helicopter were accounted for at the accident site. The helicopter's external payload was found 123 ft southeast of the main wreckage.

The wreckage was retained for further examination.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov