NTSB: 5-year-old’s kick led to deadly copter crash

I feel bad for those lives lost, but these are the things I think about anytime I see a child in a pilot's lap, as well as when I see people who carry babies on motorcycles or lawnmowers. People always talk about how it will never happen to them or how remote the chances are of anything like that happening, but it only takes once. It sucks that the NTSB is laying the blame at the pilot's feet, but as PIC, you are the captain of your ship, for better or for worse.

geeeez......just bad luck ya know? ashamed! R.I.P. All

Is there information as to what model Helicopter it was, thanks.

Type A owners pressure their pilots into doing stupid things frequently. You'd be surprised!

Surely the helicopter would have generated significant g forces instantly and therefore the passengers would have been unable to change seats after the tail-strike, so if the 5yr-old was found in the front or back would be effective proof? Or if the others had seatbelts fastened, and the child didn't?

(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

NTSB Blames 5-Year-Old Girl For Kicking Controls That Caused Helicopter To Crash

According to a new report by the NTSB, a 2010 helicopter crash that killed billionaire Thomas J. Stewart was the result of his 5-year-old daughter who accidentally kicked the controls while being allowed to sit in his lap in the co-pilot's seat.

The accident also killed Stewart's wife, brother-in-law and...

http://www.thefloridanewsjournal.com/2012/11/12/ntsb-blames-5-year-old-girl-kicking-controls-caused-helicopter-crash

(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

NTSB Says Five-Year-Old Girl Likely Contributed To 2010 Helicopter Accident

Child Was Seated In Her Father's Lap, Believed To Have Stepped On The Collective Control

This story is a true tragedy, and yet also a cautionary tale. The NTSB has released its probable cause report from a Valentine's Day, 2010 accident in which five people, including a five-year-old girl, were fatally injured when the helicopter they were aboard went down. And it would appear, at least to the NTSB, that it is "highly likely" the child stepped on the collective control of the aircraft, contributing to the accident.

http://www.aero-news.net/bannertransfer.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=f5a1ee30-e0c9-422a-9340-2fc540de2c22

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2011869927_choppercrash15m.html

Eurocopter 135.