History of the Flight
The flight was conducted as a trial lesson and an air experience flight. The student pilot had previous fixed-wing experience but this was his first helicopter lesson. The flight lasted one hour, during which the instructor considered that the student had demonstrated very good ability. On return to the practice area, the instructor decided to allow the student to maintain a hover using all three controls.
The Accident
The student maintained the helicopter in a stable hover initially, but a slow forward movement developed. He corrected for this, but the helicopter then started to move backwards. This movement accelerated as the helicopter commenced a descent. The instructor took control and attempted to prevent further downward and rearward movement but was unable to prevent the right skid from contacting the ground, and the helicopter rolled over. The instructor isolated the fuel and power, and both he and the student evacuated the helicopter without assistance.
Injuries and Damage
There were no injuries to the crew. The helicopter sustained substantial damage.
Instructor's Assessment
The instructor considered that because the student had shown a good ability to control the helicopter, he had allowed him too much time to correct his error before he intervened. By delaying his intervention, he left it just too late to be able to recover the situation. The training organisation has since prohibited hovering for air experience flights.