terrainflight . 5 days ago
Not OP, but I do have some personal knowledge of the accident. I haven’t read all the comments to see what information has been relayed already.

I recently retired from the Army after 22 years of being a Flight Engineer on CH-47D/F’s and was friends with Tommy Hayes who was the Pilot-In-Command of this aircraft. I served with Tommy while he was still Active Duty and he had retired a few years ago but continued flying both CH-47s and K-Max helicopters for various civilian companies. This particular aircraft belonged to Rotak Helicopter Services, based out of Alaska.

Initial reports indicate that there was a possible failure of a push-pull tube in the second stage flight control mixing unit. The failure of this component led the aft rotor to enter an uncommanded yaw, similar to the loss of a tail rotor in a traditional helicopter with the added factor of a loss of lift.

After the aircraft impacted the water, both pilots (Tommy Hayes and Jared Bird) were extracted by Hot Shot crews on the scene and were airlifted to a nearby hospital. However, both did not survive their injuries.