Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain control during a hover taxi with a quartering tailwind.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot reported that after returning from a local flight, he entered an in-ground effect hover taxi directly into the wind at the airport. While in the hover the pilot started a right pedal turn when he encountered a sudden right quartering tailwind. The pilot attempted to correct for the sudden wind; however, directional control was immediately lost, and the helicopter impacted the runway upright which resulted in substantial damage to the main rotor system, the fuselage, and tail rotor system. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the helicopter that would have precluded normal operations. At the time of the accident, the pilot was hover taxiing the helicopter with wind from 020° at 15 knots gusting to 20 knots. The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented by performing a left pedal turn instead of the right pedal turn.