OUT OF CONTROL

Wild Moment Helicopter Bounces Off Runway During Flying Lesson

No one suffered any serious injuries in the incident at a Utah airport.

Dramatic footage has emerged of a helicopter in a tailspin and crashing at an airport in Utah. The clip, released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shows an incident in which a flight instructor lost control of a helicopter while teaching a lesson at Cedar City Regional Airport on May 23. The surveillance video shows the red Bell 206-L4 helicopter lifting off into the air before hitting the runway and wildly bouncing around before careening off the asphalt. Luckily, both the flight instructor and the student they were training only suffered minor injuries during the incident. The NTSB ruled that the instructor’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter while adjusting its engine governor led to the crash. The helicopter was left severely damaged, as the tailboom and main rotor system eventually separated from the aircraft. Investigators also found no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented the incident. Neither the flight instructor nor the student involved in the crash were identified by the NTSB. There was also no wider damage reported to the Cedar City airport following the incident with the helicopter.

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