Accidents
Loose iPad Linked to Helicopter Crash
A fatal firefighting Chinook crash was tied to a loose iPad that jammed the flight controls.
iPad that jammed flight control pedals of a Chinook helicopter
An iPad that jammed the torque pedals likely caused the fatal crash of a Chinook helicopter on a firefighting mission last summer. (Images: NTSB)

A loose iPad that jammed a flight control pedal appears to have triggered the fatal crash of a Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopter on a firefighting mission last summer, according to information recently published in an NTSB accident investigation docket. Officially, the NTSB has yet to issue a formal probable-cause finding. 

Both crewmembers died after the aircraft, operated by Rotak Helicopter Services, crashed on July 21, 2022, near North Fork, Idaho. The helicopter was setting up for a water bucket dip 250 feet above the Salmon River and then entered into a left yaw turn that continued until it hit the water. The iPad was found in the river near the wreckage. Examination of an exemplar helicopter and accident iPad suggests that it fell between the left pedal and airframe next to the heel slide support assembly on the copilot’s side. 

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