Student pilot topples helicopter at Hanscom

By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent

Two people received minor injuries in two separate aircraft incidents within minutes of each other at Hanscom Field in Bedford today.

A student pilot overturned a helicopter while practicing hovering maneuvers just before 2 p.m. The student and his instructor were taken to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington with "bumps and bruises," Massachusetts Port Authority spokesman Richard Walsh said.

Eight minutes earlier, a sea plane scraped against the runway when its landing gear collapsed.

"There really was no damage," said owner and pilot, Louis Page, of Dover. "Float planes are very rugged."

The helicopter suffered extensive damage, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker. "It experienced a hard landing and it rolled on to its side," she said.

The FAA will investigate the helicopter crash.