Narrative
A pilot was conducting a descent into an area, heading east into the wind, and descended to 300 feet. The pilot made several passes over the area. During the last pass, the pilot executed a left turn and had begun turning to the right when the helicopter experienced a rapid yaw to the right, which the pilot recognized as indicative of an imminent loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE).
Pilot Actions
In response to the yaw, the pilot immediately reduced collective pitch and nosed the helicopter forward. Despite these inputs, the helicopter continued to lose altitude at a high rate, with no significant improvement in the right yaw rate. The pilot then increased power to arrest the descent rate, which caused the yaw rate to increase further.
Forced Landing
The pilot performed a forced landing between two houses. At the bottom of the descent, the pilot again applied power to reduce the rate of descent. During the landing, the right skid made contact with the side of a roof, causing the helicopter to roll to the left and come to rest on the ground.
Mechanical Status
The pilot stated that prior to the accident, there had been no mechanical failure or malfunction of the helicopter or any of its systems.