​​​​​​On October 4, 2011, at 1525 eastern daylight time, a Bell 206B, N63Q, registered to a private owner, collided with the East River during takeoff from East 34th Street Heliport (6N5), New York City, New York. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the planned local flight. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the airframe.

​​We determined the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: the pilot's failure to anticipate and correct for conditions (high gross weight, low indicated airspeed, and a right downwind turn) conducive to loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE), which resulted in LTE and an uncontrolled spin. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in the helicopter being in excess of its maximum allowable gross weight at takeoff.     ​

​​​​Download the final report​​​ from CAROL.