PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – A new investigation report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) blames loss of tail-rotor effectiveness for a helicopter crash that occurred northwest of Prince George last year. According to the report, which was published on Aug. 28, a camera operator and a lumber-company employee were conducting infrared scanning over a logged area from a Highland Helicopters Ltd. Bell 206B Jet Ranger-III on May 4, 2016, when the helicopter suddenly spun around several times, descended and struck the ground. All three people onboard, including the pilot, were seriously injured and transported to a hospital. The TSB investigated the accident and concluded that the aircraft’s high gross weight and high power setting had contributed to ineffectiveness of the tail rotor while the copter had been moving downwind at a low speed at an altitude higher than half of the rotor’s diameter. As a result, the pilot did not have enough time to recover before ground impact. “The pilot’s helmet likely prevented more serious injuries,” the TSB added in the report.