The Apple iPad played a major role in a helicopter crash in Idaho last year according to investigators working for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The chopper, a Boeing CH-47D, crashed into the Salmon River. While rescue crews were able to pull the pilot and co-pilot out of the wreckage, both ultimately died from the injuries they sustained in the crash.
The co-pilot’s height was five feet, ten inches, and the recreation showed, with the seats and set restraints adjusted for comfort, “neither a slightly shorter (5’7″) nor a slightly taller (6’2”) man could reach and free the jammed iPad. The co-pilot’s flight helmet would have also made it impossible to free the wedged tablet.
The iPad is considered an Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) which is used to replace pounds of paper documentation and to assist with flight planning. Andy Evans, director of the aviation safety consultancy Aerossurance, said, “Hopefully this accident will prompt operators to have a long hard look at all possible loose articles in cockpits and robustly securing valuable tools and sources of situational awareness like EFBs.”
