Eurocopter AS350B2 Ecureuil crash near Almada, Portugal

A Heliportugal AS350B2 was covering Lisbon traffic for a television station, flying low beside the A2 near the Feijó bridge with a pilot and camera operator aboard, when it began an uncommanded left yaw that right pedal would not stop. The pilot lowered the collective, accelerated and set up for an emergency landing, cutting the fuel before touchdown. The tail skid hit first at high speed and sink rate, breaking the tail boom, and the helicopter ran on about 50 metres, struck a fence with the main rotor and came to rest on its right side. Investigators found a loss of tail rotor effectiveness, typical of the slow turns flown on news work, which the pilot took for a mechanical failure, followed by a late flare that caused the tail strike.