This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A helicopter's hard landing that left one flight student with minor injuries occurred when the student pulled the wrong lever during a training flight with an instructor.
On April 6, a student and instructor from Upper Limit Aviation were on an afternoon training flight when the engine of the helicopter lost power near 6752 S. Airport Road in West Jordan. The National Transportation Safety Board released its report on the crash April 15, stating it was the student's error that led to the hard landing.
The instructor had control of the helicopter when the student pulled the mixture control lever instead of the carburetor heat control lever, killing the engine. The two levers are located a few inches apart from each other on the same side of a control panel.
The instructor was able to maneuver the helicopter away from landing in a schoolyard with children present and instead landed hard near the South Valley Regional Airport. The helicopter's skids were spread and the main rotor cut off the smaller rotor at the end of the tail.
The student was treated for minor head lacerations.
Sheena McFarland