Incident Overview
A witness observed a helicopter lift off to a hover, then begin an erratic hover. The aircraft pitched up and spun, throwing the pilot out and fatally injuring him. Witnesses stated they were unaware that the pilot intended to fly the helicopter; they believed it was to be an engine run-up on the ground. The pilot was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident.
Sequence of Events
After the pilot was ejected, the helicopter flew in a spinning motion, ascending and descending repeatedly, until it impacted the ground in a flat spinning manner. It continued to spin on the ground for several minutes until its rotation stopped. A witness entered the cockpit and shut down the engine. The helicopter came to rest approximately 87 feet from its initial lift-off point.
Pilot Experience
The pilot had accumulated about 8 hours of solo flight time in helicopters. He had been involved in a similar accident approximately one week earlier, in which he was not injured. The helicopter involved in this occurrence was being examined by the pilot with the intention of purchasing it.