This morning, I spoke with good friend who is a retired helicopter mechanic and who worked the California fire seasons with the accident pilot, George ........ . George is expected to survive, but was pretty well banged up in the crash. He reported that about 5 minutes out from their fueling stop, a vibration started at approximately 800 ft. AGL. It apparently could be seen that at least one of the main rotor blades was delaminating. An emergency descent was immediately begun, but control of the helicopter was lost before it could be safely landed. The main blades of the B-206 were reportedly not produced by Bell, but by an approved (PMA) after marked manufacturer.
This information is preliminary in nature, and, of course, more details are yet to come.
Have any contributors to this Forum heard anything (positive or negative) about the all-composite aftermarket main rotor blades for the Bell 206?
The loss of the three Wildlife Agency personnel was a tragedy. R.I.P.
Regards,
Grog