Event GAA18CA110

Factual narrative

The helicopter flight instructor reported that, the student pilot was performing a normal approach to a hover with a quartering gusting headwind. He added that, he "reminded" the student of the need to anticipate right pedal input as they applied power to terminate to a hover. Subsequently, the student pilot did not add sufficient "right pedal", and the helicopter immediately and very rapidly yawed to the left. The flight instructor said, "my controls" and attempted to recover, but the helicopter continued to spin counterclockwise, touched down and rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor system. The flight instructor and student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system on the accident airport reported, about the time of the accident that the wind was from 170° at 11 knots, gusting to 22 knots. The student pilot attempted to hover on runway 12L. The helicopter flight instructor reported that the student pilot was performing a normal approach to a hover with a quartering gusting headwind. He added that he "reminded" the student of the need to anticipate right pedal input as they applied power to terminate to a hover. Subsequently, the student pilot did not add sufficient "right pedal," and the helicopter immediately and very rapidly yawed to the left. The flight instructor said, "my controls," and attempted to recover, but the helicopter continued to spin counterclockwise, touched down, and then rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and main rotor system. The flight instructor and student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system on the airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 170° at 11 knots, gusting to 22 knots. The student pilot attempted to hover on runway 12L.     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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Yaw control-Not attained/maintained - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Student/instructed pilot - C
• C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - C
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Effect on operation
• — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Gusts-Effect on operation