What happened
The pilot and three passengers were conducting a low-altitude flight over mountainous terrain with the objective of locating bighorn sheep. Approximately thirty minutes into the sortie, the pilot detected a loud noise accompanied by an unexpected yaw to the left. In response to the developing situation, the pilot maneuvered the aircraft away from the mountains in search of a suitable emergency landing site.
During this phase, the engine lost all power completely. The pilot attempted to extend the glide path to reach the only available landing area. However, because the extended glide was necessary to cover the distance, there was insufficient rotor speed remaining to cushion the impact. The aircraft landed hard, which resulted in the breaking of the right landing skid and caused the helicopter to roll over onto its side.
The investigation
A mechanical examination of the engine revealed that bearing numbers 6 and 7 had failed. The investigation determined that these failures were caused by oil starvation. Despite the examination, the specific reason for the oil starvation could not be determined.