The student pilot was practicing hovering the RotorWay EXEC 162F helicopter without the supervision of a flight instructor.
He told investigators that the winds were gusty and he estimated the surface winds to be about 10 to 15 mph. He started to drift and attempted to make a turn. During the turn, he realized he was too close to some objects and he began to panic.
He lowered the collective and the back right skid contacted the ground, after which he pulled up on the collective and lost control of the helicopter.
Subsequently, the helicopter rolled over into a ditch near Tuscumbia, Alabama. The pilot was able to get out of the crashed helicopter and a post-accident fire ensued, resulting in substantial damage to the helicopter.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the helicopter, which resulted in the right skid contacting the ground and a subsequent rollover.
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This December 2023 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Pilot reports gusts, but the NTSB report says no gusts. Hmm. Was this pilot actually qualified to solo? I though a pilot needed 20 hours dual in order to qualify for that, but it appears he had only 15 in this make and model. Would 5 hours make a difference?
The results say probably yes. Maybe those 5 hours would have told him not to fly when the winds are, as he put it, “gusty”.
Real life VS video game.
Good one!
Old Alfred Hitchcock movie: “Kid at the stick.” He’s lucky he lived. An inexperienced ‘pilot’ getting into a flying machine without an experienced companion is simply a suicide mission.
/J