Incident Overview
A 43-hour student helicopter pilot reported that after a routine flight, he hovered the helicopter from the parking area to the taxiway for a west departure. During taxi, he maintained a skid height of about 2-3 feet for approximately 100 yards before settling the helicopter back down against a headwind, describing the landing as "very, very gently." After the landing, the pilot began to reduce engine power. At approximately one-third power, he heard a loud "splat," followed by a "quiver" from the helicopter. After shutting down the engine and exiting, the pilot noticed that the tail rotor was not turning.
Investigation Details
The investigation revealed that the tail cone had separated from the helicopter. The bolt associated with the tail cone attachment had fractured due to fatigue failure. The helicopter, a 1986 model, had accumulated a total of 1,609 hours since new at the time of the incident. No further details about the specific aircraft type, registration, operator, or location were provided in the source material.