What happened
On 16 March 2003, a Robinson R22 Beta, registration G-DLDL, was engaged in a training flight at Cambridge Airport. The flight was being conducted by an experienced instructor and a student pilot as part of a general revision session to prepare the student for an upcoming Licence Skills Test.
During the session, the instructor demonstrated the specific techniques required to manage an engine failure while in a hover. After providing a briefing on potential errors—such as excessive left drift, yawing, or premature collective input—the instructor handed control to the student and closed the throttle to simulate the failure. The student responded by applying excessive right cyclic and right yaw pedal, and subsequently raised the collective lever too quickly. Although the instructor attempted to intervene and land the aircraft, the resulting touchdown was heavy.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot and subsequent telephone enquiries. Following the flight, the instructor noticed physical damage to the lower left side of the main rotor mast fair and reported the incident. A subsequent inspection by a maintenance organisation confirmed that the mast fairing had sustained slight crinkling and that the main rotor blades may have also experienced minor deformation.
Findings
- The student pilot over-reacted to the instructor's briefing regarding common mistakes during engine failure procedures.
- The primary cause of the heavy landing was the student's excessive control inputs, specifically over-controlling with the cyclic and pedals and raising the collective too rapidly.