“When additional pressure was applied to the pilot’s left pedal, the iPad fell and jammed between the left pedal and heel slide support assembly.”
A CH-47D fighting fires in Idaho spun left into the Salmon River 13 seconds after the rotation began, and both pilots died. NTSB investigators matched three gouges on the crew’s iPad to a sharp metal piece under the co-pilot’s pedal. Operators assess the risk of electronic flight bags, but often nothing requires them to treat one as a loose object. A tablet sold as a safety tool jammed the controls.