Introduction
On 5 January 2003 at 1104 UTC, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration G-BXTU, was involved in an incident at Cranfield Airport, Bedfordshire. The flight was a training sortie with an instructor and a student pilot on board. Both occupants sustained minor injuries. The aircraft suffered severe damage to its main rotor system, fuselage, and landing gear.
Incident Narrative
Prior to the incident, the instructor and student had completed an uneventful one-hour training flight involving circuit practice. The student successfully hover taxied back to the apron and attempted a landing into light wind. This attempt was abandoned, and the aircraft was raised back into a stable hover. On the second attempt, the left skid touched the ground in what the instructor considered a normal manner, with a small bounce to the right skid. At that point, the student fully raised the collective lever and applied full left pedal. The instructor, who had been following through on the controls throughout, was unable to override the student's control inputs due to the student's additional strength brought on by the situation. The helicopter yawed 180° to the left while simultaneously rolling to the right, impacting the apron surface and coming to rest on its right side. The duty Air Traffic Control Officer declared an aircraft ground incident. Both occupants vacated the aircraft through the left door with minor injuries. The instructor concluded that the total duration of the event was less than three seconds.
Aircraft and Crew
The aircraft was a 1998 Robinson R22 Beta, powered by a Lycoming O-360-J2A piston engine. The commander held a Private Pilot's Licence with an Instructor's Rating, was 30 years old, and had a total of 701 flying hours, of which 673 were on type. The student's details were not specified in the report.
Conclusion
The instructor stated that he was unable to overpower the control inputs of the student, despite his attempts to correct the situation.