Helicopter Accident Following Low Pass and Rotor RPM Drop

Incident Narrative

A pilot was en route to a destination when she decided to fly the helicopter up a canyon toward rising terrain. After performing a low pass over a ridge above 8,000 feet mean sea level (MSL), she increased the collective pitch in an attempt to climb over upcoming terrain. As the collective was raised, the rotor RPM began to decrease. The pilot reacted by increasing the throttle, reversing course to fly downhill, and lowering the collective. During this turn, the helicopter encountered a quartering tailwind and started to settle toward snow-covered ground. Shortly thereafter, the helicopter made contact with the terrain but bounced back into the air. Immediately following this, a main rotor blade severed the tail boom, and the helicopter impacted the terrain. According to the pilot, there was no evidence of an engine power loss or any anomaly with the flight control system.