The pilot of a cessna 172 continued to land while a helicopter cleared the runway environment; resul...

Narrative:

I was performing a 1-hour cessna 172 discovery flight for a potential private pilot student. The flight originated from ZZZ; and the incident occurred while landing back at ZZZ. While in the traffic pattern maneuvering to land; the hour-meter rolled over to the pre-paid allocated flight time; allowing only one attempt at landing without overcharging the customer. My aircraft was in landing configuration on short final. What is believed to be an EC130 helicopter had just completed his approach to the runway and was hovering on the runway centerline; near the 1000-foot aiming markers; as I best recall. I communicated with the pilot of the helicopter via the CTAF; asking his intentions. The helicopter pilot promptly responded; stating that he was beginning his takeoff; and immediately began accelerating from a hover. At this point; I believe I was arriving at the threshold and began my roundout/flare on the presumption that he would be clear of the runway; providing enough separation to complete my short-field landing. However; lateral separation was less than safely desirable. In the unlikely event that the helicopter would have to abort his takeoff or I would have to commence a late go-around; my aircraft was not in a favorable position for collision avoidance. Additionally; the distraction of attempting to maintain separation from the helicopter led to a firm landing; resulting in an uncomfortable bounce. Downwash from the helicopter may have played a factor as well. I maintained positive control of the aircraft; completed the landing; and terminated the flight without incident to either aircraft. It is very evident that rather than attempt to land behind the departing traffic; I should have aborted the approach and made a second attempt. This would have resulted in paying more money than expected; but money should never be an excuse to compromise safety. Had the helicopter pilot delayed his departure another second; I would have definitely aborted my landing. This is a prime example of external pressures leading to overconfidence and ultimately pushing the limits of my experience. Fortunately; only embarrassment resulted from this incident; and I am able to learn from my less-than-ideal decision.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a Cessna 172 continued to land while a helicopter cleared the runway environment; resulting in a wake encounter and firm landing.

Narrative: I was performing a 1-hour Cessna 172 discovery flight for a potential Private Pilot student. The flight originated from ZZZ; and the incident occurred while landing back at ZZZ. While in the traffic pattern maneuvering to land; the hour-meter rolled over to the pre-paid allocated flight time; allowing only one attempt at landing without overcharging the customer. My aircraft was in landing configuration on short final. What is believed to be an EC130 helicopter had just completed his approach to the runway and was hovering on the runway centerline; near the 1000-foot aiming markers; as I best recall. I communicated with the pilot of the helicopter via the CTAF; asking his intentions. The helicopter pilot promptly responded; stating that he was beginning his takeoff; and immediately began accelerating from a hover. At this point; I believe I was arriving at the threshold and began my roundout/flare on the presumption that he would be clear of the runway; providing enough separation to complete my short-field landing. However; lateral separation was less than safely desirable. In the unlikely event that the helicopter would have to abort his takeoff or I would have to commence a late go-around; my aircraft was not in a favorable position for collision avoidance. Additionally; the distraction of attempting to maintain separation from the helicopter led to a firm landing; resulting in an uncomfortable bounce. Downwash from the helicopter may have played a factor as well. I maintained positive control of the aircraft; completed the landing; and terminated the flight without incident to either aircraft. It is very evident that rather than attempt to land behind the departing traffic; I should have aborted the approach and made a second attempt. This would have resulted in paying more money than expected; but money should never be an excuse to compromise safety. Had the helicopter pilot delayed his departure another second; I would have definitely aborted my landing. This is a prime example of external pressures leading to overconfidence and ultimately pushing the limits of my experience. Fortunately; only embarrassment resulted from this incident; and I am able to learn from my less-than-ideal decision.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1271634
Time
Date	201506
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Route In Use	Visual Approach None
Flight Plan	None
Aircraft 2
Make Model Name	EC130
Flight Phase	Taxi
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 170 Flight Crew Total 1150 Flight Crew Type 160
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Airborne Conflict Inflight Event / Encounter Wake Vortex Encounter
Miss Distance	Vertical 0

The pilot of a cessna 172 continued to land while a helicopter cleared the runway environment; resulting in a wake encounter and firm landing.