Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil crash near Pampilhosa da Serra, Portugal

An AS350B3 was lifting from Pampilhosa da Serra airfield with a pilot and five GNR members aboard for a fire in the Castelo Branco district when engine power surged suddenly. The helicopter rose about a metre, rotated 90 degrees, then settled tail low. The right rear leg and the tail rotor struck the ground, the helicopter lifted again and rolled until the main rotor hit the ground, coming to rest on its right side. Nobody was hurt. Investigators found the pilot had inadvertently moved the twist grip to the emergency range, helped by differences between AS350B3 variants and an unmodified grip.