What happened
During flight training, a helicopter was performing left-hand traffic pattern maneuvers to practice autorotations toward a taxiway. The crew had completed approximately five successful patterns, characterized by a nose-down descent followed by a level-off and hover.
On the final attempt, the aircraft descended in a nose-down attitude but failed to level off before impact. The helicopter struck the ground on its right skid, causing a cloud of dust and a rapid spin. The aircraft subsequently rolled onto its right side and came to rest between two taxiways.
The accident resulted in 1 fatality and 1 serious injury.