A helicopter pilot 'lost control and blacked out' before crashing on a flight from Dorset.

The 50-year-old, who has not been named, escaped with minor injuries but the helicopter was a complete write off.

He had been flying from Organford, Dorset with an intended destination of Dunkeswell, in Devon.

He recounted his memories of the dramatic 15-minute flight leading up to the accident to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

It published its report last week (Thursday, August 11), which concluded that the pilot possibly lost control due to a loss of tail rotor effectiveness or tail rotor authority or a combination of both.

Soon after take off in the Agusta A109C from a private airfield in Organford, Dorset, on July 15 last year, he noticed the landing gear would not retract.

It was not the first time he had experienced such a problem in the same helicopter and he attributed it to "an issue with the ‘weight on wheels’ sensor".

He kept his speed down, but "following a period of troubleshooting, the landing gear remained down", at which point he decided to return to the departure point.

On approach to the private landing site, the aircraft experienced an "uncontrolled yaw (twist)" and began drifting sideways.

The pilot chose not to abort the landing as he feared losing tail rotor drive or control.

But after failing to regain control, the pilot decided his only option was to cut the power, leading to the helicopter hitting the ground.

He has no memory of the last moments before the crash as he lost consciousness.

The report said: "In the absence of a mechanical defect, it is possible that the loss of control was due to a loss of tail rotor authority resulting from operating close to or at the controllability limits of the helicopter, or that the helicopter was over-pitched, or a combination of both.

"The helicopter was damaged beyond economic repair and the pilot sustained minor injuries."

It added: "The pilot reported that he did not sustain any visible head injuries.

"His loss of consciousness may have been caused by high sideways rotational accelerations of his head during the impact sequence."