The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report on a helicopter crash at Cedar City Regional Airport in Utah that occurred May 23, 2026, finding that the flight instructor lost control during hover operations with no mechanical fault documented.
CCTV footage released alongside the report captures the moment the helicopter went down on a taxiway. The instructor and student on board sustained only minor injuries.
The NTSB’s finding places the cause squarely on the instructor’s loss of control during what is a foundational and high-workload phase of rotary-wing training. Hovering demands precise, simultaneous management of all flight controls, and loss of control during student instruction — where inputs can conflict — is a recognized risk in dual-control helicopter operations. The agency documented no mechanical fault, meaning the aircraft itself was not a contributing factor.
