What happened
During a solo flight intended to be the student pilot's first attempt at hovering, the pilot began the procedure by raising the collective in preparation for takeoff. As the aircraft lifted, it unexpectedly jumped into the air and drifted toward the right.
In an attempt to correct this movement, the pilot inadvertently over-corrected, causing the helicopter to drift toward the area where the instructor had been standing. To regain control of the aircraft's movement, the pilot immediately pulled the cyclic to the rear. This maneuver caused the tail rotor to strike the ground.
The investigation
The inspection of the aircraft revealed that the tail rotor sustained substantial damage as a result of the impact with the ground.