Incident Overview
A certified flight instructor (CFI) was providing instruction to a student pilot who had accumulated a total of 3 hours of flight time. The student was practicing maneuvers known as "pickups and set downs." During an attempted pickup, the left skid of the helicopter failed to lift off the ground, leading to a dynamic rollover. The helicopter rolled onto its left side, sustaining substantial damage to its primary fuselage structure.
Operational Context
According to the helicopter operator, at the time of the accident, the student pilot had not yet learned how to hover. The company's flight training syllabus specified that the CFI should not have been conducting instruction in pickups and set downs until the student pilot was capable of safely hovering the helicopter.