The NTSB released its factual report of the March 18, 2014 crash of an Airbus AS350B2 newscopter on the heliport of a Seattle TV station. The pilot and the one passenger died in the accident. One person on the ground was seriously injured when the aircraft struck a parked car and burst into flames.
A witness to the morning VFR departure said after takeoff the helicopter lifted to an altitude of about 15 feet before it began to make noises similar to backfiring and began to rotate counterclockwise. Another saw the helicopter proceed backwards off the end of the building’s helipad before it fell to the street.
The AS350 pilot was experienced and exhibited no health issues, and weather did not appear to be a factor. A maintenance check a week before the accident found all systems operating within recommended parameters. The operator had recently complied with a recurring airworthiness inspection of the clearance between the main rotor collective control lever and the collective locking stud. The AD specifically defined an unsafe condition as the main rotor collective pitch-lever (collective) locking stud inadvertently locking in the low pitch position, which could result in a subsequent loss of control. Investigative flight simulator scenarios did not reveal anomalies that might have led to the accident.