Incident Overview
A pilot reported that during a training flight, while circling clockwise around a point at about 40 feet above ground level and approximately 400 feet from the point at an indicated airspeed of 35 knots, the helicopter suddenly began to increase its yaw rate to the right. The pilot applied left pedal to stabilize the yaw rate, but it continued to increase. Despite applying full left pedal, the yaw rate remained uncontrolled, and the helicopter completed two rapid 360-degree rotations.
Pilot Actions
Realizing that pedal inputs were not correcting the high yaw rate, the pilot entered a hovering autorotation, which successfully stopped the yawing. The helicopter then landed, but the landing was hard, resulting in damage to the landing gear. According to the helicopter manufacturer, the hard landing caused structural damage. No injuries to the pilot or damage to other property were reported.
Damage Assessment
The aircraft sustained structural damage from the hard landing, specifically to the landing gear. The extent of the damage was as per the manufacturer's evaluation.