"I was worried," says Stuart Williams, the pilot's godson. "I was typing on the computer and I got a call saying everything was OK, but the helicopter was messed up."
"When the rotor blades contacted the ground, it warped the frame and ruptured the gas tank and destroyed the rotor blades," says John Cavaroch of the Garner fire department.
The pilot, Curtis Dail, was the only person on board. Dail, who is in his 60s, received minor injuries and refused medical treatment.
Dail is an accomplished airplane pilot but had logged only 270 hours of helicopter flight time.
The chopper is a Robinson R-22 and cost about $150,000.
The helicopter suffered extensive damage.
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