Incident Overview
On 8 May 2003, at 1437 hours UTC, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter, registration G-INIS, was involved in an instructional exercise at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey, England. The aircraft, powered by one Lycoming O-320-B2C piston engine and manufactured in 1991, was being used for training with two persons on board – the commander (a 47-year-old private pilot with a Flying Instructor Rating, total flying experience 900 hours of which 628 were on type) and a student.
Flight Sequence
The commander was demonstrating an engine-off landing back at Redhill. Runway 26L was in use, and air traffic control cleared the helicopter to land on Helicopter Training Area (HTA) 1, situated south of the runway. The windsock indicated a westerly wind at about 10 knots, with excellent visibility and few clouds at 3,000 feet.
Entry into autorotation was normal. The commander initiated the flare at his usual height. At an estimated 20 feet above ground level, he noticed the helicopter drifting left. He applied corrective cyclic input and continued flaring until the helicopter was level, but he perceived the rate of descent was still too high and the left drift continued. During touchdown, the commander had right cyclic applied and was using collective control to cushion the landing. He felt the helicopter land heavily on the rear of the right skid, then bounce back into the air in a nose-down attitude. He used cyclic to level the helicopter, but the main rotor struck the tailboom. The helicopter remained upright; both pilots shut down the engine and exited without injury.
Post-incident Observations
The pilot later noted the wind had veered to approximately 340° magnetic and decreased to about 5 knots – more northerly and weaker than expected for the exercise. The air traffic controller in the tower witnessed the accident and recalled that the descent appeared normal until the flare, when the tail seemed to contact the ground first. ATC recorded the wind at the time as 330°/4 knots.
Damage
The helicopter sustained extensive damage to the tailboom and main rotor.