What happened
On 8 May 2004, a Robinson R44, registration G-CBXX, was engaged in a private flight near Conlig, Bangor, Northern Ireland. Following a brief 10-minute flight, the pilot landed the helicopter in a level field on his farm to allow a passenger to disembark. At the time, weather conditions were favorable, with good visibility and a light northerly wind of approximately 5 knots.
As the passenger exited the front left seat and moved clear of the aircraft, the pilot attempted to lift into a hover by applying collective. During this maneuver, the pilot noticed that the cyclic control felt unusually "light" and had moved almost entirely forward. The aircraft immediately began to oscillate in pitch. In an effort to regain control and land the aircraft safely, the pilot performed a hard landing, which caused the helicopter to roll onto its side. The aircraft sustained severe damage, though the pilot escaped with no injuries.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft's control systems following the incident. While the impact of the landing caused significant disruption to the controls, the investigation was unable to identify any pre-existing defect within the control system that would account for the sudden change in cyclic feel or the subsequent pitch oscillations.