Incident Overview
On April 19, 2010, a Hélicoptères Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter suffered a serious accident at the Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden airfield (EDSB). The investigation, conducted by the German Federal Aviation Office (BFU) under case number BFU 3X036-10, determined that the aircraft was heavily damaged, while both occupants escaped without injury. No third-party damage or fire occurred.
Flight Details and Sequence of Events
The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, initiated a flight to evaluate the new Cabri G2 model for student training suitability. After completing circuit flights and autorotations with no issues, the pilot intended to test the helicopter's behavior during yaw control problems. During the third attempt at this maneuver, the pilot brought the aircraft into a hover position for the final approach segment.
According to the pilot's account, the nose initially turned right upon acceleration but swung left as forward speed decreased. An attempt to correct this using pedal inputs failed. When the pilot pulled the collective pitch lever to gain altitude, the rotation around the vertical axis intensified. The pilot reported losing control after the helicopter completed a full 360-degree turn. Following two complete rotations, the aircraft made ground contact in a backward motion at approximately 15:03 local time.
Aircraft and Damage Assessment
The involved aircraft was a 2009 model Cabri G2 with serial number 1007, powered by a Lycoming O-360-J2A engine. It had accumulated approximately 63 flight hours at the time of the accident. Post-accident inspection revealed that the skid landing gear was folded forward, and the tail boom with the Fenestron drive shaft had broken off, remaining attached only by control cables. All three main rotor blades were splintered or broken, and the cabin glazing on the right side was shattered. No technical defects were identified, and fluid levels remained within normal limits.
Environmental and Operational Context
Meteorological conditions at the time included winds from 220 degrees at 8 knots, visibility exceeding 10 km, and a temperature of 21 °C. The pilot held a commercial helicopter license with specific type ratings for the G2 model and possessed over 4,400 total flight hours, including 15.35 hours on this specific aircraft type.