Incident Overview
On August 8, 2011, at approximately 1400 Pacific daylight time, a Robinson Helicopter R22 Beta, registration N8332T, was substantially damaged during a hard landing following a loss of control while hovering near Deer Park, Washington. The helicopter was operated by Inland Helicopters, Inc., of Spokane, Washington, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight had originated about 20 minutes before the accident. Neither the flight instructor nor the student pilot was injured.
Sequence of Events
According to the flight instructor, this was the student's second training flight. While the student was practicing hovering, the helicopter began to drift to the right, and the student started to lower the collective. The instructor stated that he repeatedly announced he was taking the flight controls, but the student did not relinquish them. Control of the helicopter was momentarily lost, resulting in a hard landing.
The student reported that during the hover, the helicopter began a right turn. He attempted to correct with left pedal but "overdid it with the pedal," causing the helicopter to spin to the left. The student described that they performed "several 360's banking down and the left skid hit the ground." After the left skid contacted the ground, the instructor regained control and landed the helicopter hard in a grass field.
Damage Assessment
The hard landing caused the skids to spread, the firewall and fuselage to wrinkle, and the fuel tank's mounting straps to be compromised. The helicopter sustained substantial damage.