Incident Description
A helicopter was on an evaluation flight conducted by a U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Aircraft Services, helicopter specialist. The purpose of the flight was to certify the pilot for future government contracted flights. During the evaluation, the pilot performed several maneuvers before landing on the shore of a small lake to re-hook an external bucket to the bottom of the helicopter.
The terrain at the landing site was level but consisted of soft marshy tundra. The helicopter was equipped with full length flat skis attached to the bottom of the landing gear skid tubes. These tundra skis are designed to help prevent the skid tubes from sinking into soft terrain.
After the external bucket's cable was attached to the helicopter, the pilot began to lift the helicopter into a hover. During liftoff, the left skid tube remained stuck to the ground. The helicopter then rolled onto its left side and received damage to the fuselage and rotor system.
The source does not specify the aircraft type, registration, date, operator, location, number of occupants, or any injuries. No analysis or cause is provided.