What happened
On 27 May 2009, a Robinson R22 Beta, registration G-INKY, was performing a private flight from a rural site near Wester Cartmore Farm, Lochgelly. As the pilot initiated a lift into a hover, the aircraft was impacted by an unexpected gust of wind. During the attempt to correct for this wind, the right skid and the main rotor assembly made contact with the ground. The helicopter subsequently settled back onto both skids and remained in an upright position, having rotated 90 degrees to the left.
While the surface wind recorded at Edinburgh Airport was 220° at 16 kt, the pilot noted that the wind at the takeoff site was similar in strength but originated from a direction 90 degrees to the right of the helicopter's nose. The impact resulted in severe damage to the fuselage, the right skid, and the main and tail rotor assemblies. The pilot escaped the incident without injury.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators examined the environmental conditions and the aircraft's movement during the takeoff phase. It was established that the aircraft's orientation relative to the wind direction at the time of startup contributed to the instability experienced during the transition to a hover.