Bell 206 N206R accident near Linden, New Jersey

Probable cause

The pilot receiving instruction's failure to maintain helicopter control during the initial takeoff, which resulted in a dynamic rollover. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor's inadequate remedial action due to his distraction by looking outside the helicopter to ensure that the area was clear.

NTSB analysis

The flight instructor reported that the purpose of the flight was to provide the private pilot, who was also the owner of the helicopter and was helicopter-rated, transition training in the helicopter. He stated that they performed a preflight inspection, flight control check, and hydraulic check with no anomalies noted. The pilot receiving instruction was at the controls of the helicopter during the initial takeoff from a dolly to a hover. The flight instructor stated that, when the helicopter became "light on the skids," it started to roll left. The helicopter continued to roll left, impacted the ground on the left side of the dolly, bounced, and then came to rest on the right side of the dolly. The flight instructor reported that he was looking to the left during the initial takeoff to verify that the area was clear and that he had never had anything happen that quickly while instructing.

Examination of the helicopter revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the dolly revealed that there were no scrapes or score marks on the diamond steel platform on the dolly; therefore, it is unlikely that the helicopter got caught on the dolly. It is likely that, during the takeoff, the pilot unintentionally applied excessive left cyclic, which resulted in the helicopter experiencing a dynamic rollover. In addition, because the flight instructor was distracted by looking outside the helicopter to ensure that the area was clear, he did not provide any corrective actions to prevent the rollover.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA16LA104 for the full record.