What happened
During a solo training flight, a student pilot with 22 hours of flight experience was performing a hovering maneuver. While maintaining a skid height of approximately 10 feet above the ground, the single-engine helicopter encountered loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE). This phenomenon caused the aircraft to enter an uncontrolled hard spin to the right.
In response to the spin, the pilot lowered the collective, which resulted in a hard landing. The pilot was able to egress from the aircraft normally and sustained no injuries.
The investigation
The inspection of the aircraft revealed structural damage to the right strut, the tail rotor drive shafts, and the right horizontal stabilizer. Weather conditions at the time of the incident were reported as winds from 210 degrees at 6 knots.