LAX07LA210 · Aviation International Rotors CH-54A
Aviation International Rotors CH-54A · Accident: airframe, component or system failure during takeoff
From Los Olivos, CA (no airport) to Los Olivos, CA (no airport)
Event
- NTSB case
- LAX07LA210
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Visual Meteorological Cond
Aviation International Rotors CH-54A
- Aircraft type
- Aviation International Rotors CH-54
- Category
- Helicopter
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N44094
- Operator
- Unknown
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route
- From Los Olivos, CA (no airport)To Los Olivos, CA (no airport)
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 133: Rotorcraft Ext. Load
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Airframe, component or system failure
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Substantial
Cause areas
- Company maintenance personnel › Maintenance, inspection, inadequate
- Rotorcraft flight control system, primary servo › Disengaged
- Rotorcraft flight control system, primary servo › Improperly serviced
- Rotorcraft flight control, cyclic control › Inoperative
Approximate · Coordinates from the NTSB case API, which marks them as estimated or does not say; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
The pilot was preparing to takeoff in furtherance of a contract firefighting flight for the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). The helicopter was on the ground with its engines at operational power, when a mechanical malfunction occurred. The pilot was unable to maintain roll control, and the helicopter initiated an uncommanded slow rollover onto its side. The helicopter was operated and maintained by its owner pursuant to a specific maintenance program. A component of this program involved examining each main rotor servo mount pin for rust and corrosion, and performance of dimensional checks prior to reinstallation of the inspected components. The company mechanic reported that he completed the inspection and found no faults. The records reflect that the components were reassembled and installed on the helicopter that was then returned to service. The accident occurred about 8 operational hours and 2 days following the reported maintenance inspection. During the accident investigation, components that secured one of the three main rotor blade pitch change servo units to the helicopter were found a few yards away from the main wreckage. The components consisted of a nut, bolt, pin, and plate. The components had secured one of the servo units to the helicopter transmission on one end and the helicopter swash plate on the other end. Separation of these components from the helicopter resulted in separation of the servo unit, and consequently resulted in a loss of main rotor blade pitch control. Upon the subsequent visual examination of components, evidence of severe wear and corrosion was detected inside of the nut holding down the retainer mounting strap, which indicates that this area had not been inspected for some time. Once the main rotor servo cylinder and transmission attaching lug separated, the rotor system would travel to the full pitch position, thereby resulting in the helicopter experiencing an uncommanded lift and roll to the right.
Probable cause
The company mechanic's inadequately performed maintenance and inspection, which resulted in a flight control malfunction and loss of control during takeoff.
Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record LAX07LA210
- Event ID
- 20070723X00988
- Case number
- LAX07LA210
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status, coordinates. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 0e50d140f6c090bd4234a43b5b41b0caf0c9dc4d81b84790d3b8bc4ab323dee8; retrieved 2026-09-21T18:27:38.145Z.