What happened
On 2 May 2008, a Robinson R22 Beta, registration G-RIAT, was conducting a trial lesson and air experience flight at the Culter Helipad, located near Aberdeen. The flight was being led by an instructor with the intention of allowing a student pilot to practice maintaining a stable hover using all three flight controls.
While the student initially kept the helicopter stable, a slow forward movement began to develop. Although the instructor corrected this initial drift, the aircraft subsequently began moving backwards. This rearward movement accelerated as the helicopter started to descend. The instructor took control of the aircraft to arrest the downward and rearward motion, but the right skid struck the ground, causing the helicopter to roll over. Both the instructor and the student were able to exit the aircraft unassisted following the impact. There were no injuries to the crew, though the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of control inputs and the timing of the instructor's intervention. The instructor noted that the student had demonstrated high levels of ability during the hour-long flight. However, the investigation established that the instructor had permitted the student to attempt to correct the developing errors for too long. By delaying the takeover of controls, the instructor was unable to prevent the right skid from contacting the surface.
Findings
- The instructor's decision to allow the student too much time to rectify the developing drift resulted in the inability to recover the aircraft before ground contact.
- The aircraft experienced an accelerating rearward movement and descent during the hover attempt.