Contributor - Safety

David Jack Kenny

<h2>Preliminary Reports</h2>
<h3>Four Killed in Slackline Collision</h3>
MD Helicopters 369FF, Jan. 2, 2026, Superior, Arizona
All four occupants died after the helicopter struck an uncharted slackline about 600 feet above a valley floor. The main line and the backup line that secured the walkers’ safety harnesses were suspended between anchor points three-quarters of a mile apart; above them was a visualization line marked by five windsocks and “about ten” LED lights. The line had initially been erected one week earlier but taken down on December 30 in anticipation of high winds and rain. The slackliners were raising it again on the morning of the accident when one of them saw the helicopter fly past “at about eye level” toward the lines.
Striking them, it “appeared to slow or even reverse direction,” pitched up, and yawed right. The tailboom separated, and the fuselage rolled inverted and crashed. “Material consistent in appearance to the highline/slackline webbing” was found embedded in the vertical stabilizer, and “striations similar to the webbing weave pattern” were on the horizontal stabilizer and two of the main rotor blades. The helicopter’s two wire cutters showed no evidence of contact.
First responders reported that about an hour after the accident, a second helicopter flew about 10 feet under the visualization line. A notam for the presence of a “tight rope” 3 nm south of the Superior Municipal Airport had been filed on December 21 and was active from December 26 to January 6.
<h3>Hydraulic Alert Preceded Gear Collapse</h3>
Honda Aircraft HA-420, Jan. 16, 2026, Amarillo, Texas
The airline transport pilot and all four passengers evacuated without injury after the HondaJet lost both braking and steering capability during a precautionary landing. In cruise flight about 1.5 hours after departure, the pilot saw a yellow crew alerting system message for an air data computer, followed 15 minutes later by one for low hydraulic pressure. He diverted to Amarillo International Airport (KAMA) and landed safely, but lost brake pressure during taxi. The brakes locked when the pilot applied the parking brake; after releasing it, he lost both braking and steering control, and the jet’s left wing struck a parked deicing truck.
<h3>Turboprop Destroyed in Low Approach</h3>
Epic E1000, Feb. 13, 2026, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
The 1,150-hour commercial pilot and all three passengers were killed when the single-engine turboprop struck a mountainside three miles south of the Steamboat Springs Airport (KSBS) during a night GPS approach. The initial ground scar was found at an elevation of 8,175 feet, about 75 feet below the mountain’s peak. Minimum descent altitude (MDA) for the GPS approach to Runway 32 is 9,100 feet; the last altitude recorded by the airplane’s Garmin G1000 avionics suite was 8,221 feet with the autopilot engaged.
Air traffic control vectored the flight to the TILLI waypoint, the initial approach fix for both the RNAV Z approach to Runway 32 and the RNAV-E approach, and cleared it for the “RNAV approach” to SBS. The pilot read back “RNAV 32 to Steamboat Springs” and was cleared to change to the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency. No further communications were received after his readback of the frequency change.
The prevailing weather included calm winds with 10 miles of visibility, broken clouds at 1,600 feet agl, and a 2,400-foot overcast. Recorded engine parameters indicated normal function, and about 100 gallons of fuel remained in the wreckage. Notes on the Runway 32 approach plate, stored in the GPS, indicated that neither circling nor straight-in approaches were authorized at night for that runway. Another note warned “Visual Segment-Obstacles,” meaning that there are constraints below the MDA.
<h3>Runway Overrun after Citation Excel Failed To Rotate</h3>
Cessna Citation 560XL, Feb. 6, 2026, Danville, Kentucky
A Citation 560XL was substantially damaged after the airplane failed to rotate when the pilot applied back pressure at 103 knots during the takeoff roll at Stuart Powell Field Airport (KDVK) in Danville, Kentucky, resulting in a runway overrun, a snow berm strike, and the collapse of all three landing gear, according to the NTSB preliminary report. The two crew members and two passengers were not injured.
The crew planned to depart KDVK for Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport (KBWG) in Kentucky to pick up a passenger, then continue to Fort Wayne International Airport (KFWA) in Indiana. The airplane was being operated as a Part 91 personal flight.
The pilots completed a preflight walk-around using the checklist, reviewed preflight paperwork, and checked the weather for both airports. They added 5,000 pounds of fuel, bringing the projected takeoff weight to 18,000 pounds. During taxi to the 5,000-foot runway, the crew completed the before-takeoff checklist, including verifying flight control position and movement. No anomalies were noted.
At 103 knots, the pilot pulled back on the yoke, but the airplane did not rotate and all three landing gear remained on the runway. Confirming the airspeed was above 103 knots with no rotation, the pilot elected to abort.
“The pilot applied maximum braking and deployed the thrust reversers,” the report noted. “The airplane began to slow down, but he knew insufficient runway remained to stop. The airplane contacted a snow berm at the end of the runway, and all three landing gear collapsed.” The airplane came to rest in a field after traveling roughly another 450 feet farther. The main landing gear were forced up through the wings, causing substantial damage. There was no post-accident fire.
A weather observation at KDVK 10 minutes before the accident recorded visual conditions, scattered clouds at 12,000 feet agl, 10 miles visibility, and winds from 210 degrees at 10 knots. The temperature was -1 degrees C. The crew had filed an IFR flight plan.
The NTSB did not travel to the accident scene. The airplane was retained for further examination. No probable cause has been determined; the investigation is ongoing.
<h2>Final Reports</h2>
<h3>Ditching Traced to Electronic Failure</h3>
Sikorsky S-92A, Feb. 28, 2024, offshore of Sotra, Vestland County, Norway
A failed circuit card in the autopilot’s pitch actuator caused the helicopter to pitch up some 30 degrees and eventually crash backwards into the ocean at a groundspeed of 40 knots during a night search-and-rescue (SAR) training flight. The helicopter’s emergency flotation system did not deploy. Despite the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre’s prompt response to signals from both the helicopter’s emergency locator transmitter (ELT) and three crew members’ personal locator beacons (PLBs), the accident site’s distance from all available airborne resources meant that rescue aircraft did not arrive for 45 minutes. They found that the SAR nurse had been killed, while the five survivors were in “poor condition” from hypothermia and injuries of varying severity.
The upset occurred while using the helicopter’s autopilot in Mark on Top (MOT) mode to approach a training beacon dropped earlier in the flight. The approach profile called for the helicopter to turn into the wind and hover at 50 feet, 50 meters (160 feet) aft and left of the point at which MOT mode is engaged. The cockpit voice recording showed that the captain recognized the pitch excursion and attempted to go around five seconds before impact; the crash smashed several left-side windows, and the helicopter quickly filled with water.
Extensive disassembly and post-accident testing determined that a Schmitt Trigger filtering component used in the spring deflection and current feedback circuits of the pitch actuator motor driver card had failed. Following its investigation, the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority issued recommendations for improved personal survival gear for SAR crews and mandated cockpit video recordings in operations where voice and flight data recorders are already required.
<h3>Passenger Killed in Practice Autorotation</h3>
Bell 206L-4, July 6, 2025, Hespero/Safron Residence Heliport, Alberta, Canada
The pilot suffered a serious head injury, and the only passenger was fatally injured in a hard landing that collapsed the skids; one main rotor blade severed the tail boom, while the other was separated outboard of the blade doublers by contact with the upper wire cutter. There was no post--impact fire.
The accident occurred at the end of a 34-minute private VFR flight from the Lodge at Panther River to Hespero/Safron River Heliport, both in Alberta. Flight track data downloaded from the helicopter’s Garmin GTN 750 showed that the pilot overflew the landing area northbound about 700 feet agl and made a 360-degree turn before “commencing a turning approach consistent with an autorotation” terminating in a power recovery, according to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). After landing, the pilot took off again, making a 270-degree turn and levelling off at 300 feet. A descending left turn “in another descent consistent with an autorotation” reached 43 degrees bank, and the descent rate peaked at 2,362 fpm at 100 feet agl. In the next five seconds, the helicopter pitched up 14 degrees, and the descent rate slowed to 125 fpm, only to increase again over the flight’s final six seconds. Impact occurred 21 seconds after the descent began.
The commercial helicopter pilot also held private pilot privileges for airplanes and had logged about 3,500 hours of rotary-wing flight, including 1,800 in the accident helicopter, 33 in the preceding 60 days, and had completed a pilot proficiency check in the same helicopter the month before. He was reported to conduct recurrent training that included turning autorotations from below 300 feet at six-month intervals.
The TSB noted that the prohibition on conducting emergency training during commercial operations does not apply to private flights.
—Amy Wilder contributed to this report

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