Accident Overview
During an approach to a helipad, the pilot noticed that the anti-torque pedals were not effective. Due to obstacles, the approach was aborted and the helicopter turned eastbound toward a sugar cane field. The helicopter then began to rotate, and the pilot realized that he had no control of the tail rotor via the anti-torque pedals. He reduced the throttle to idle and initiated an autorotation from approximately 75 feet above ground level (AGL). The pilot reported that a high sink rate developed, and the helicopter impacted the ground hard on the main landing skids.
Post-Accident Inspection
Examination of the helicopter revealed that the pivot bolt (part number NAS6604D31), bushing (part number 206-011-726-005), nut (part number MS14144l4), and cotter pin (part number MS24665-155), which connect the rotor control idler assembly (part number 406-012-127-101) to the tail rotor control housing assembly, were missing.
Maintenance History
Review of the aircraft logbooks indicated that an annual maintenance inspection had been performed 7 days hours prior to the accident. The helicopter had accumulated 4.9 hours of flight time since that inspection.