N2311R

On June 5, 1996, at 1115 hours Pacific daylight time, a Robinson R22 Beta, N2311R, rolled over while transitioning from the helipad to hover taxi at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, Paso Robles, California. The aircraft sustained substantial damage; however, the solo student pilot was not injured. The aircraft was being operated as an instructional flight by Kyodo Air, Inc., when the accident occurred. The flight originated in Paso Robles at 1043 on the morning of the accident. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.

The student pilot reported that he had been doing hover practice about 1 to 2 feet agl over the helipad. He decided to hover taxi back to the operator's ramp after setting down on the pad. As the helicopter was getting light on the skids, he abruptly pulled collective and the aircraft began to spin to the right. He applied full left pedal and the helicopter then began to spin to the left. He bottomed the collective in an attempt to put the aircraft back down on the pad, and as it touched down, it rolled onto its right side. After the accident, he told another pilot at the school that he had encountered dynamic rollover.

The operator reported that the main rotor and tail rotor blades, empennage, swashplate, cyclic and collective control push-pull rods, main rotor gearbox, skids, and windscreen were damaged in the accident.