Did a loose iPad bring down a CH-47D?

The Chinook doesn't only fly in uniform. Its commercial version, the Boeing Vertol 234, and numerous retired military airframes work for civilian operators in cargo transport, logging, construction, and firefighting. In December 2006, Columbia Helicopters bought the Model 234 type certificate from Boeing. The CH-47D, in service since 1979, can carry up to 26,000 lb (12,000 kg) of external cargo with its three-hook system. On July 21, 2022, a CH-47D registered N388RA and operated by Rotak Helicopters was taking part in fighting the Moose Fire in Idaho when it crashed into the Salmon River near North Fork. Both pilots died.

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the accident to the crew's failure to properly secure a company iPad. The tablet shifted until it became wedged against the co-pilot's left pedal and jammed it, so the pilot could not arrest a leftward yaw and control of the helicopter was lost.

In a tandem-rotor helicopter, the pedals control yaw, that is, the aircraft's rotation around its vertical axis. A loose object in the cockpit that interferes with the controls can turn a routine maneuver into an unrecoverable situation. The case has become a reminder that electronic tablets, now common in the cockpit for charts and documentation, must always be secured in their mount.