Originally Posted by
Bell_ringer
How would you manhandle a 206L to make the tailboom fold? Considering it appears to be in level flight and under power.
If the upper LH tailboom mount bolt or fitting failed in flight, the air loads on the vertical fin will fold the tailboom to the right at the same time the nose of the aircraft spins right into the tailboom. No manhandle required.
Several years ago a similar failure happened to a 407 in Hawaii with 6 on board, at 1500ft with 130 indicated when there was a violent upset and the nose spun right. A pax saw something fall from the aircraft and by hook or crook and luck they all survived. The tailboom had departed the aircraft in a similar fashion due to the upper LH T/B bolt failed. Unfortunately with the L4, I know of no teetering head helicopter that could survive such a CG upset in flight and stay together.
Hawaii 407 NTSB