Luckily no one was hurt here, because this could have been a lot worse. Check out this single-engine Piper PA-28R-201 airplane collide with a Robinson R22 helicopter while trying to take off in Clearwater, Florida...

quote:
Both aircraft were owned and operated by Tampa Bay Aviation. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Both flights were operated as personal flights, and no flight plans had been filed. Both aircraft were operating in the traffic pattern at the time of the accident.

According to the flight instructor, the purpose of the flight was a flight review of the pilot-rated student. He indicated that he had never previously flown with the student pilot, but during the flight, both were wearing headsets. The student pilot proceeded to the hover practice area and executed multiple practice maneuvers. All radio calls were made during every turn while in the airport traffic pattern. The instructor performed all radio calls at each leg of the airport traffic pattern during the first approach; while the pilot-rated student made the radio calls at each leg of the airport traffic pattern during the second takeoff, and approach to the runway. In addition, prior to every turn, they scanned in all directions for traffic. While on a final approach, the instructor noticed a fixed-wing airplane on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 16, and he announced on the common traffic advisory frequency that they were using runway 34. They heard the pilot of the fixed-wing airplane say something that was not legible and then observed the airplane veer away, flying to the west. The instructor then allowed the student to continue the approach to runway 34, which terminated with a hover, touchdown, and then liftoff.