Accident Details
On 7 July 2001 at 1200 hours, a Robinson R22 Beta, registration G-KEVN, was conducting a dual training flight at Newtownards Airfield in Northern Ireland. The helicopter sustained substantial damage when it struck the ground and rolled onto its left side. Both occupants, the instructor and a student, escaped through the right-hand door and sustained minor injuries. There was no fire.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Robinson R22 Beta, manufactured in 1988, powered by one Lycoming O-320-B2C piston engine.
Flight and Crew
The flight was a training sortie with two crew members and no passengers. The commander, aged 32, held an Airline Transport Pilots Licence with an Instructor Rating and had accumulated 2,054 total flying hours, of which 1,512 were on type. His recent flying experience included 137 hours in the last 90 days and 62 hours in the last 28 days. The student had completed approximately 7 hours of dual training on the helicopter type.
Sequence of Events
During the flight, the student was over-controlling the helicopter. To demonstrate proper control, the instructor decided to show a light grip technique using only finger and thumb on the cyclic. While demonstrating, the cyclic control suddenly moved up through the instructor's fingers. As the instructor attempted to regain control, the cyclic moved sharply forward, causing the helicopter to pitch nose-down. The instructor raised the collective in an attempt to regain control, but the helicopter struck the ground on its front left side and rolled over onto its left side.
Aftermath
Both occupants were able to exit the helicopter through the right-hand door without assistance. The possibility of this type of inadvertent control input by a student was highlighted to all of the operator's instructors.