Incident Overview
A flight instructor reported that a student pilot was at the controls of a helicopter during a dark night takeoff. According to the instructor, the helicopter had just climbed through 100 feet when the engine lost power. The instructor immediately initiated an autorotation to manage the descent.
Collision and Damage
During the touchdown phase of the autorotation, the helicopter collided with the ground. As the helicopter continued to gyrate during the landing, a main rotor blade severed the tail boom, and the helicopter rolled over.
Post-Impact Examination
A subsequent post-impact examination revealed no mechanical problems with the helicopter. The engine assembly was removed from the airframe and installed in an engine test cell. During a functional test run, the engine operated smoothly through all power ranges, with no anomalies detected.