Event WPR14CA354

Factual narrative

The flight instructor reported that during practice hovering, the student pilot lost aircraft control and the helicopter yawed towards the right. The flight instructor did not act in a timely manner to maintain control of the helicopter and prevent the tail rotor from contacting the ground during the recovery. Subsequently, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to its tail boom. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The flight instructor reported that during practice hovering, the student pilot lost aircraft control and the helicopter yawed towards the right. The flight instructor did not act in a timely manner to maintain control of the helicopter and prevent the tail rotor from contacting the ground during the recovery. Subsequently, the helicopter sustained substantial damage to its tail boom. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. 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-Student/instructed pilot - C
• F Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Delayed action-Instructor/check pilot - F
• C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Yaw control-Not attained/maintained - C