The student pilot reported that during the landing, as he began to flare, the airplane was, "hit with the first blast of wake turbulence", from a helicopter that was hovering on the helipad to the left of the runway. The airplane landed hard, exited the runway to the right, and collided with a runway sign.

According to the Meteorological Terminal Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) at the airport, the temperature was 99 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind was variable at 4 knots.

The helicopter pad was located over 400 feet to the east of the location that the pilot reported encountering the blast of wake turbulence.