What happened
During a magneto check, a student pilot was operating the helicopter in the presence of a 90-degree gusty crosswind. As the pilot raised the collective to perform the check, the aircraft began to wobble and subsequently rolled over. The helicopter had been parked on terrain that sloped away from the direction of the wind.
Findings
The pilot attempted to move the cyclic into the wind to counteract the wobbling motion; however, the pilot was unable to move the controls effectively because the collective friction had been applied too tightly. While performing the magneto check, the pilot had tightened the friction to a point that prevented necessary control inputs.
Discrepancies were noted between different procedural documents: the FAA-approved checklist required both cyclic and collective frictions to be removed prior to conducting a magneto check, whereas the operator's specific checklist did not require the removal of the cyclic friction. Despite this, the operator stated that students were instructed never to tighten the cyclic or collective friction to a degree that would prevent movement if needed.