Narrative:

The weather at the airport indicated VMC conditions with winds from 260 degrees at 10 KTS gusting to 18 KTS. The helicopter was facing due west at engine start on a wood plank dolly. I did notice weather in the distance 8 to 10 mile west of the airport. The weather was moving in an easterly direction. As I proceeded to lift the helicopter from the dolly for a repositioning to the alternate pad; I encountered what I believed to be a slight wind gust. At that point the helicopter pitched up and the right rear leaf spring carved into the wooden platform. That was enough to start the helicopter into a dynamic rollover. The helicopter pitched up and rolled right. I struggled with all my ability to bring the helicopter back under control. I was also trying to stay clear of the hangar which was 120 ft south of the dolly and a storage shed about 50 ft south. The incident began and ended quickly; in approximately 10 to 13 seconds; so there was no time for discussion or analysis. My reactions were quick and coordinated to the best of my ability. After regaining control I landed the helicopter on a taxiway approximately 100 ft to the northeast of the dolly. Airport authority was notified that I had landed and shut down on a taxiway. There were no injuries to pilot or passenger. On initial inspection of the cockpit; no obvious abnormal mechanical issues were noted. The aircraft was shut down normally and the passenger was safely escorted away from the aircraft. After exiting the aircraft and doing a visual inspection I noticed that two of the three main rotor blades had made some ground contact. There was also some damage to the right rear landing gear cross tube and the tail stinger. The extent of damage is yet to be determined. Although I offer no excuses; I do believe there were many contributing factors leading to the incident. First I had flown the AS350 for the previous three days and had not flown the EC120 recently. Second; apparently I miss judged my height off the dolly at lift off. I thought I had a higher clearance than I actually had. Third; I also believe the failure on my part to recognize my slow drift towards the rear of the dolly. All this added with what I believe to have been a sudden gust of wind which pitched the nose of the helicopter just enough to allow the right leaf spring to grab the wood platform. Fourth; there are differences in the handling characteristics of the AS350 and EC120; and fifth; the EC120 skid height from the ground is slightly higher. The lesson learned here is that when things do go wrong in helicopters; it happens very quickly. I have learned to never get too comfortable and complacent; and always be ready for the unexpected and there by hopefully making me a better and safer pilot.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: EC120 pilot reports blade damage during attempted lift off from a wooden dolly when skid becomes entangled with dolly; causing helicopter to roll sharply to the right. Wind and lack of recent experience are cited as factors.

Narrative: The weather at the airport indicated VMC conditions with winds from 260 degrees at 10 KTS gusting to 18 KTS. The helicopter was facing due west at engine start on a wood plank dolly. I did notice weather in the distance 8 to 10 mile west of the airport. The weather was moving in an easterly direction. As I proceeded to lift the helicopter from the dolly for a repositioning to the alternate pad; I encountered what I believed to be a slight wind gust. At that point the helicopter pitched up and the right rear leaf spring carved into the wooden platform. That was enough to start the helicopter into a dynamic rollover. The helicopter pitched up and rolled right. I struggled with all my ability to bring the helicopter back under control. I was also trying to stay clear of the hangar which was 120 FT south of the dolly and a storage shed about 50 FT south. The incident began and ended quickly; in approximately 10 to 13 seconds; so there was no time for discussion or analysis. My reactions were quick and coordinated to the best of my ability. After regaining control I landed the helicopter on a taxiway approximately 100 FT to the northeast of the dolly. Airport authority was notified that I had landed and shut down on a taxiway. There were no injuries to pilot or passenger. On initial inspection of the cockpit; no obvious abnormal mechanical issues were noted. The aircraft was shut down normally and the passenger was safely escorted away from the aircraft. After exiting the aircraft and doing a visual inspection I noticed that two of the three main rotor blades had made some ground contact. There was also some damage to the right rear landing gear cross tube and the tail stinger. The extent of damage is yet to be determined. Although I offer no excuses; I do believe there were many contributing factors leading to the incident. First I had flown the AS350 for the previous three days and had not flown the EC120 recently. Second; apparently I miss judged my height off the dolly at lift off. I thought I had a higher clearance than I actually had. Third; I also believe the failure on my part to recognize my slow drift towards the rear of the dolly. All this added with what I believe to have been a sudden gust of wind which pitched the nose of the helicopter just enough to allow the right leaf spring to grab the wood platform. Fourth; there are differences in the handling characteristics of the AS350 and EC120; and fifth; the EC120 skid height from the ground is slightly higher. The lesson learned here is that when things do go wrong in helicopters; it happens very quickly. I have learned to never get too comfortable and complacent; and always be ready for the unexpected and there by hopefully making me a better and safer pilot.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.