Robinson R22 crash near Birr, Co Offaly, Ireland

While transitioning out of Birr Airfield during a solo navigational exercise, the student pilot observed that he was not climbing as normal and felt that the helicopter was suffering from a lack of power. Fearful of imminent impact with a number of obstructions ahead of his position the pilot decided to carry out an emergency landing in a field adjacent to the airfield. During the final phase of the run-on landing, the helicopter started to drift to the right and subsequently rolled over onto its right-hand side just prior to coming to a halt. The pilot evacuated the helicopter without injury.