Narrative:

During a routine pre-solo traffic pattern flight we had a near mid-air with a bell jet ranger helicopter. The runway in use at prescott was runway 30 with the winds out of the north with gusts to 22kt; and visibility greater than 10SM. We had been cleared for a touch and go on 30 from the left downwind. Sometime before turning base tower gave right traffic entry instructions for a helicopter that was approaching the airport from the east (I do not recall the exact instructions that were giving to the helicopter). Soon after we turned on an approximately 2.5NM final I heard the helicopter report right base. The helicopter did not give a distance out; and tower told him to turn back to the right downwind. This caught my attention and I begin to scan for traffic off the right wing tip; and behind the wing. This was where I determined that helicopter would be according to their radio calls. I checked the mfd for any ads-B traffic; but due to a radar outage any non-ads-B equipped aircraft would not show on the mfd. The student continued to fly down final. When we were on an approximately 1.5NM final I turned my attention back to our final approach course; as I was unable to locate the helicopter off my right side. I located the helicopter shortly after looking back at final. We were still about 1.5NM out and approximately 500 feet AGL. The helicopter was at our one o'clock and headed straight for us (approximately 150 feet lateral and -100 feet vertical). I took evasive action by pulling hard on the elevator and banking to the left to avoid sudden impact with the helicopter. My best guess is we were 3 seconds from impact. I continued to climb to tpa on runway heading. My student never saw the helicopter.the helicopter pilot then reported to tower that he had a near mid air; I responded that he had just crossed the final approach course. Tower then had him turn back to the right downwind for 30.other contributing factors were that prescott tower's radar feed was also out of service; which left the tower without a valuable aid in sequencing aircraft arrivals. This coupled with the fact the helicopter was a transient aircraft that may have not been adequately familiar with the area.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 instructor pilot reported an NMAC with a helicopter at PRC during a time the Tower's radar was out of service.

Narrative: During a routine pre-solo traffic pattern flight we had a near mid-air with a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter. The runway in use at Prescott was Runway 30 with the winds out of the north with gusts to 22kt; and visibility greater than 10SM. We had been cleared for a touch and go on 30 from the left downwind. Sometime before turning base tower gave right traffic entry instructions for a helicopter that was approaching the airport from the east (I do not recall the exact instructions that were giving to the helicopter). Soon after we turned on an approximately 2.5NM final I heard the helicopter report right base. The helicopter did not give a distance out; and tower told him to turn back to the right downwind. This caught my attention and I begin to scan for traffic off the right wing tip; and behind the wing. This was where I determined that helicopter would be according to their radio calls. I checked the MFD for any ADS-B traffic; but due to a radar outage any non-ADS-B equipped aircraft would not show on the MFD. The student continued to fly down final. When we were on an approximately 1.5NM final I turned my attention back to our final approach course; as I was unable to locate the helicopter off my right side. I located the helicopter shortly after looking back at final. We were still about 1.5NM out and approximately 500 feet AGL. The helicopter was at our one o'clock and headed straight for us (approximately 150 feet lateral and -100 feet vertical). I took evasive action by pulling hard on the elevator and banking to the left to avoid sudden impact with the helicopter. My best guess is we were 3 seconds from impact. I continued to climb to TPA on runway heading. My student never saw the helicopter.The helicopter pilot then reported to tower that he had a near mid air; I responded that he had just crossed the final approach course. Tower then had him turn back to the right downwind for 30.Other contributing factors were that Prescott tower's radar feed was also out of service; which left the tower without a valuable aid in sequencing aircraft arrivals. This coupled with the fact the helicopter was a transient aircraft that may have not been adequately familiar with the area.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.