What happened
On Tuesday, November 23, 1999, at 15:30, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration F-GGFC, was performing a solo circuit flight at La Baule aerodrome. The aircraft was operated by a flight school. During the final approach, as the pilot was preparing to transition into a hover within ground effect, the aircraft was at a very low altitude, less than one meter above the runway threshold.
As the pilot increased collective pitch to reduce vertical descent, they simultaneously applied back cyclic pitch to flare the aircraft. However, the pilot failed to apply timely rudder input to compensate for the resulting torque. This caused the helicopter to enter a rapid rightward rotation while extremely close to the ground. Although the pilot attempted to correct the yaw with left pedal, the aircraft remained in a nose-up attitude and began to drift backward while losing altitude. The left skid and the tail rotor struck the ground, causing the aircraft to land on its belly and right skid, resulting in heavy damage to the airframe.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's coordination of the flight controls during the critical transition from forward flight to a hover. The BEA examined the mechanics of the helicopter's response to collective pitch increases, specifically the secondary effects of increased torque and increased pitch attitude. The investigation established that the pilot's actions on the cyclic and collective were not synchronized with the necessary rudder corrections required to maintain directional control during the flare.