What happened
On 15 May 2008, a Robinson R44 Raven II, registration G-LAVH, was being operated for private flight purposes at a private landing site in Bury, Lancashire. The pilot was performing solo hovering and taxiing exercises in the newly acquired helicopter. After a brief period on the ground to adjust the radio frequency, the pilot attempted to re-establish a hover.
Upon lifting off, the pilot noticed that the cyclic control had become extremely heavy. The aircraft began to oscillate laterally and drift backwards. In an attempt to regain control, the pilot lowered the collective from a height of approximately 6 to 8 feet. This resulted in a nose-down touchdown on the front skids. During this maneuver, the rotor blades may have struck the ground, causing intense vibrations that caused the windscreen to detach. Following the impact, a fire broke out near the main rotor mast and the auxiliary fuel tank, ultimately destroying the aircraft, leaving only the tail boom and tail rotor intact. The pilot escaped the scene with minor injuries.
The investigation
The investigation examined the pilot's recent training and the mechanical state of the aircraft. It was noted that during a type rating skill test the previous week, the pilot had practiced using hydraulically boosted servo assistance with the flight controls' hydraulics switch set to 'OFF'. The pilot could not confirm if the switch had been inadvertently moved to the 'OFF' position during the ground period before the second takeoff. Additionally, the investigation looked into whether the cyclic friction had been increased after the pilot had landed to change the radio frequency.