The pilot of the Sikorsky S76 helicopter reported that while approaching Barrow Island and immediately after he reduced the helicopter's airspeed for landing gear extension, he found that the cyclic could not be moved aft. He also found that with any further forward movement of the cyclic stick, the stick then could not be moved aft of the new position. The pilot froze the cyclic longitudinal position and the helicopter stabilised in a level pitch attitude at about 85 kts indicated airspeed. Using only lateral cyclic movements to manoeuvre the helicopter, the pilot conducted an 80-kt run-on landing on the runway at Barrow Island.
The subsequent maintenance inspection found a panhead type screw at the base of the cyclic stick. The screw had lodged between the lower protrusion on the casting on the end of the cyclic stick torque tube and the lugs on a support bracket. The lodgement of the screw in that location had caused the cyclic restriction experienced by the pilot.
The cyclic stick base hardware was accommodated in a tub-like area formed by the cabin structure supports. A leather boot mounted at the base of the cyclic normally prevented foreign objects from entering the tub. The subsequent maintenance inspection found the leather boot on this helicopter to be intact. With the boot in place, the only possible entry points where a screw could be inserted was through a rigging pin hole in the aft mid-height position of the boot-halves joint, or vertically through an opening provided for the cyclic stick electrical wiring loom. Due to the unlikelihood that a screw could enter the tub area when the boot was fitted, the screw was probably introduced to the area during prior maintenance while the boot was removed.