The helicopter was on a check-ride flight around Kaduna Airport when the accident occurred.
The helicopter with two souls on board and an endurance of 02:00 hours lifted up at about 10:48 UTC, i.e. 11:48 a.m. local time and proceeded to the threshold of runway 05 for a hovering exercise. Later at 10:56 UTC a circuit was made into runway 23 and a landing was effected on the taxi-way. After an objection to landing on the taxi-way was raised by the Air Traffic, Controller (ATC), a low pass was made towards the 05 threshold, but just before getting to the threshold the crew decided to proceed to an area north of the field at about 11:05 UTC to complete the check-ride programme. The helicopter had spent some 30 minutes by then on the ground manouvres. North of the field about 45 minutes were spent on aerial exercises before the exercise of landing in a confined space (Landing in a bush-clearing) was carried out.
The helicopter took off from the bush both accelerating and climbing attaining about 60 knots forward speed and a height of about 200ft when the check-Captain reached forward to operate a switch to the ‘Off’ position either to simulate a complete hydraulic failure or an engine flame-out.
