Report suggests dual accountability in catastrophic $10 million helicopter accident, implicating instructor and student pilot.
Chopper Mishap: Pilot Error Blamed for $11 Million Damage to TH-1H Helicopter
Greg Hadley
A scheduling misjudgment by a helicopter instructor pilot during a training flight last spring at Skelly Stagefield Army Heliport, Alabama, led to a rollover accident that caused significant damage to a TH-1H chopper, according to a recently released Air Force Accident Investigation Board report.
The incident occurred on April 3, 2024, during a training session for the 23rd Flying Training Squadron—the Air Force's primary unit for helicopter pilot training. The mishap, which was due to pilot error on both the teacher and the trainee, has likely resulted in approximately $10.8 million in damages.
One of the student pilots was practicing taking off and landing on a slope when he encountered a crucial error. After successfully landing and taking off on an incline, the helicopter was slightly tilted, with the right skid higher than the left. During the subsequent takeoff attempt, the trainee used the cyclic—a stick used to control directional thrust—and the collective—a lever to control overall vertical lift—to lift the lower left skid off the ground.
However, the student misjudged the helicopter's angle and overcompensated, causing a slight right bank. As he became disoriented, he thought the right skid was slipping and veered the aircraft left. This maneuver only worsened the situation, rolling the helicopter onto its right side and causing the main rotor blade to hit the ground. The entire incident occurred within a few seconds.
Investigators observed that the instructor pilot only verbally acknowledged the problem once, when the student was applying "right cyclic." Even as the aircraft exceeded a level attitude, the instructor's corrective action was insufficient, and he failed to lower the collective, a critical error that could have prevented the accident.
The student was also found at fault for misinterpreting the helicopter's levelness and loss of orientation. Both mistakes led to the crash, with no other contributing factors identified.
The instructor, with over 5,200 flight hours, including more than 1,800 hours in a TH-1H, was highly experienced. However, the student, who had just 4.5 hours in the TH-1H and was "not qualified to accomplish anything unsupervised," struggled to manage the situation effectively.
Though this incident marks a rare mishap for the Air Force's helicopter fleet, particularly the ageing H-1, which had only one "Class A" mishap in the previous decade (according to service statistics), the specific frequency of Class A mishaps involving the H-1 helicopter over the past decade is not publicly known, as accurate data is typically internal to the U.S. Air Force Safety Center or the Department of Defense.
- The air force is analyzing sports-related data to reduce the number of aviation mishaps, such as the one that caused $10.8 million worth of damage to a TH-1H helicopter, which was due to pilot error.
- The sports-analysis team is evaluating the role of the air force air force in aviation training, as the recent CHopper Mishap involved both instructor and trainee pilots, demonstrating a need for improved aircraft handling and situational awareness.
- As the sports-analysis continues, the focus is on identifying best practices to improve the skills of aircraft pilots,\ such as proper use of aircraft controls, recognition of airplane attitudes, and effective communication during training flights, in order to minimize the risk of future accidents in the aviation sports sector.
