A trainee pilot who survived a helicopter crash that killed veteran Tasmanian pilot Roger Corbin has told an inquest that he has just a single "picture" in his mind of the moment of impact before he "woke up trapped in the aircraft".
The four-day inquest, heard before coroner Olivia McTaggart, has looked into the circumstances around the death of Mr Corbin, who died in 2017 when a helicopter he was using in a training flight nosedived into the ground at Hobart Airport, killing him instantly.
Mr Corbin, who had more than 35 years of flying experience, won the 2007 National Search and Rescue Award for his work in more than 700 rescue missions.
The well-respected instructor was teaching trainee pilot John Osborne how to land in an emergency situation without the use of hydraulics.
Mr Osborne survived the crash but suffered from injuries including lacerations to his face, head and legs.
An investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) in 2020 found the pair were practising how to land the helicopter in an emergency without hydraulic systems but in a way that was different to that recommended in the helicopter's flight manual.
The report said the trainee pilot was in control of the AS350BA Squirrel helicopter, registration VH-BAA, when Mr Corbin announced a simulated hydraulic failure and pushed a switch to cut off the hydraulic system.
"I have a continuous series of memories up until probably 40 to 50 feet (12-15 metres) off the ground until the final stage of the hydraulic failure simulation," Mr Osborne told the court.
"After that it's blank, so I don't recall anything until I woke up trapped in the aircraft other than I have a single screenshot. It doesn't feel like a continuous memory it's just like a picture of the final moment before we went into the ground."
Mr Osborne explained to the court that he then cannot remember anything from the crash other than when he woke up later in the hospital.
Helicopter veered and rolled before hitting ground, report found
The report found the helicopter entered a high hover with a crosswind, before it veered to the left, rolled, and hit the ground.
The manufacturer's flight manual for the AS350 warns that to safely practise the procedure the helicopter should make a shallow approach into a headwind and avoid hovering.
The ATSB also found the pilots had not conducted a detailed pre-flight briefing, which may have led to them becoming confused about who was in control of the helicopter during the emergency.
Mr Osborne said he didn't recall Mr Corbin tell him that he was going to step in and assume control of the aircraft.
"I've had many instructors intervene during my own training," he said.
"My last memory is about 40 to 50 feet [above ground] with the approach still stabilised and going ahead."
He also said he could not recall struggling to control the aircraft as it descended.
"I don't remember being concerned … I was just thinking, 'Keep it [the helicopter] moving.'"
"My memory at the time was … that I was too high so I started correcting that but by the time of my last memory I felt I had enough space to still come on with a shallow run on … I wasn't concerned."
Mr Osborne is the manager of his family's helicopter charter business, based in Tasmania.
He told the court that he continued flying after the accident and had undertaken further training in the past six years.
"I was fine flying shortly after the accident again and continued doing so for some time," he said.
