The pilot was undergoing his initial helicopter licence training and was authorised to fly three solo circuits at Mangalore. A helicopter flying instructor briefed him for the flight. The engine start was conducted by the pilot but monitored by the instructor, who vacated the helicopter shortly after.
As the helicopter started to lift off the ground into a hover, it rolled to the right until the main rotor struck the ground. The main rotor and transmission then separated from the fuselage, which landed on its right side, facing in the same direction as it was parked. Several rescuers reached the accident site within seconds and shut down the engine. They released the pilot's lap seat belt and moved him from the wreckage. A short time later, the pilot died of his injuries.
The autopsy report attributed the cause of death to head injuries. The pilot's injuries and damage to the aircraft were consistent with his head having impacted the upper door surround structure. The pilot did not have his upper body restraint harness secured. The aircraft checklist contained a requirement that the pilot's seat harness be secured before the engine was started. The flying school's procedures required that the pilot's complete harness, including the shoulder restraint, be secured before the engine was started.
Initial examination of the wreckage disclosed that the left side of the front of the cockpit had been severed. The right side and rear of the cockpit were intact and relatively undamaged. The skids were undamaged. Both main rotor blades had broken into several pieces and were lying on the tarmac near the fuselage. Abrasion marks on the rotor blades and impact marks on the ground indicated that the helicopter had rolled to the right until the main rotor had contacted the tarmac. There were no marks on the tarmac to indicate that the skids had been dragged sideways, had sunk into the tarmac surface, or had stuck to the surface.
Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-existing defects or malfunctions that would have precluded other than normal operation. An examination of the maintenance records indicated that all required maintenance had been performed, and there were no defects listed on the maintenance release.
The pilot was an experienced commercial pilot with a total flying time of more than 4,000 hours on fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft. He was correctly licensed and authorised for the flight.
The pilot commenced training for his private pilot licence (helicopter) on 9 May 1997 and continued training at irregular intervals over the next 11 months. During this period, he continued to fly fixed-wing aircraft as part of his employment. At the time of the accident, he had completed 13.6 hours on the Bell 206 type, including 0.6 hours of solo flying. All his helicopter training had been on this aircraft type. The pilot had not flown a helicopter for 21 days before the accident flight.
Two witnesses saw the helicopter attempt to lift off the ground. One reported seeing both skids lift off the ground before the helicopter began to roll to the right. A second witness reported seeing only the left skid leave the ground before the helicopter began to roll.