Incident Overview
A flight instructor reported an incident during the conclusion of a training flight. The final exercise involved a demonstration of an autorotation to a powered recovery. According to the instructor, the entry and glide phases were normal. During the flare, the throttle was opened to reinstate engine power. The instructor noted that there was insufficient power to bring the aircraft to a hover, so the aircraft was leveled in preparation for a touch-down autorotation.
Ground Contact and Damage
Contact with the ground was level but with some forward movement. The grass runway was soft due to recent rainfall, causing the front of the skids to dig into the runway. This brought the helicopter to a sudden stop, and it tipped forward with some force. The mast tipped forward, and the rotor blade flexed downward. As the blade rotated to the rear of the aircraft, it came into contact with the tail boom, severing the tail rotor drive shaft.
The aircraft remained upright and level, allowing the instructor to perform a normal shutdown. The occupants then exited to inspect the damage. No engine or mechanical malfunctions or failures were reported.
Instructor's Remarks
The flight instructor stated, "I should have opened the throttle prior to the [flare] in order to give the engine more time to recover before pulling pitch. I was simply late bringing the power back in."