Event GAA16CA488

Factual narrative

According to the flight instructor in the skid-equipped helicopter, he was teaching the student to hover over an asphalt helipad. He reported that he transferred the flight controls to the student, directing the student to maintain a stable hover. The flight instructor reported that the nose pitched down and a right lateral drift occurred. He reported that he immediately grabbed the flight controls but the front of the right skid contacted the ground. The main rotor blades then struck the ground and the helicopter rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom, fuselage, and the main rotor blades. The instructor reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the helicopter during the flight that would have prevented normal flight operation. The meteorological aerodrome report at the airport where the accident occurred reported that the wind was out of 200° true at 9 knots, gusting to 18 knots. According to the flight instructor in the skid-equipped helicopter, he was teaching the student to hover over an asphalt helipad. He reported that he transferred the flight controls to the student and directed the student to maintain a stable hover. The nose pitched down, and a right lateral drift occurred. The flight instructor immediately grabbed the flight controls, but the front of the right skid contacted the ground. The main rotor blades then struck the ground, and the helicopter rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom, fuselage, and the main rotor blades. The instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the helicopter that would have prevented normal operation. The meteorological aerodrome report at the airport where the accident occurred reported that the wind was 200° at 9 knots, gusting to 18 knots. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Instructor/check pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Lateral/bank control-Not attained/maintained - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation