Ormond Beach, FL, USA
N731TA
Schweizer 269C
The student pilot reported that, while on his first solo flight in a helicopter, the wind began to increase. Concerned the wind may become unsafe, he decided to make a full-stop landing and complete the flight. After coming in for landing and while hovering over the runway, an air traffic controller instructed the student to exit the runway via the nearest taxiway. As he made a right pedal turn onto the taxiway, the helicopter began to yaw aggressively right. Concerned the helicopter was encountering a loss of tail rotor effectiveness, he applied additional right pedal and forward cyclic to increase airspeed and abort the landing. The helicopter began to spin uncontrollably and gain altitude. He rolled off the throttle and pulled aft cyclic and full collective, the right skid impacted the ground, and the helicopter then rolled onto its right side. The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom and fuselage. The student reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot reported that, while on his first solo flight in a helicopter the wind began to increase. Concerned the wind may become unsafe, he deiced to make a full stop landing and complete the solo lesson. After landing and coming to a hover over the runway, air traffic control instructed him to exit the runway via nearest the taxiway. As he made a right pedal turn onto the taxiway the helicopter began to yaw aggressively to the right. Concerned the helicopter was encountering loss of tail rotor effectiveness, he applied additional right pedal and forward cyclic to increase airspeed and abort the landing. The helicopter begun to spin uncontrollably and gain altitude. He rolled off the throttle, pulled aft cyclic, and full collective, the right skid impacted the ground and rolled onto the helicopters right side.The helicopter sustained substantial damage to the tailboom, and fuselage. The student pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operation. The airport's automated weather observation station reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 030° at 7 knots. The pilot was landing the helicopter on runway 9.
The student pilot's improper pedal and cyclic input while maneuvering, which resulted in a loss of helicopter control.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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