Owasso, OK, USA
N322DA
Robinson R22
The 1,114-hour flight instructor stated that after completing a practice maneuver, the helicopter was hovering into the wind at a skid height of approximately 5 feet. The flight instructor and the commercial pilot receiving helicopter flight instruction agreed to terminate the training flight and return to a nearby hangar. At this point, the instructor "released his hold on the cyclic control to the student who apparently had not maintained complete control of the cyclic." The pilot stated " the result was that the helicopter pitched down in a nose down attitude." He "attempted to regain control by pulling back on the cyclic and increasing collective pitch, but these actions were all too late, and the front left skid dug into the grass runway, and the helicopter rolled over on its left side."
On February 16, 2005, approximately 1015 central standard time, a Robinson R22 helicopter, N322DA, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while hovering at a private airstrip near Owasso, Oklahoma. The flight instructor and the commercial pilot receiving flight instruction sustained minor injuries. The helicopter was owned and operated by PG Aviation of Owasso, Oklahoma. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the training flight that was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The local flight originated from the Tulsa International Airport (TUL), near Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 0900. In a written statement, the 1,114-hour flight instructor stated that after completing a practice maneuver, the helicopter was hovering into the wind at a skid height of approximately 5 feet. The instructor and student then agreed to terminate the training flight and return to a nearby hangar. At this point, the instructor "released his hold on the cyclic control to the student who apparently had not maintained complete control of the cyclic." The pilot stated " the result was that the helicopter pitched down in a nose down attitude." He "attempted to regain control by pulling back on the cyclic and increasing collective pitch, but these actions were all too late, and the front left skid dug into the grass runway, and the helicopter rolled over on its left side." The commercial pilot receiving instruction, who had accumulated 10-hours of instruction in the helicopter, reported a similar sequence of events and added, "there was a misunderstanding of who had controls of the helicopter." An examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed structural damage to the tail boom. The rotor blades had struck the ground and were damaged, and the left skid was damaged. At 1953, the automated weather observing system at TUL, located approximately 6 miles southwest of the accident site, reported wind from 040 at 10 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, an overcast cloud layer at 15,000 feet, temperature 5 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit, and a barometric pressure setting of 30.33 inches of Mercury.
The flight instructor's failure to verify that the student had the flight controls and his delayed remedial action.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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