Incident Overview
During a training flight, a helicopter flight instructor and a student pilot were conducting a normal approach to a hover. The wind was reported as a quartering gusting headwind. According to the instructor, he reminded the student of the need to anticipate right pedal input as they applied power to terminate to a hover.
Sequence of Events
The student pilot did not add sufficient right pedal input. Consequently, the helicopter immediately and very rapidly yawed to the left. The flight instructor said, "my controls" and attempted to recover, but the helicopter continued to spin counterclockwise. It touched down and rolled onto its right side.
Damage and Findings
The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor system. Both the flight instructor and student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system at the airport recorded, about the time of the accident, wind from 170° at 11 knots, gusting to 22 knots. The student pilot had attempted to hover on runway 12L.