Pilot Report
The private pilot reported he was flying the helicopter at an altitude of about 500 feet above the ground when he decided to descend to follow a riverbed.
Sequence of Events
While descending toward the river, one of the passengers alerted the pilot to the presence of power line wires obstructing their flight path. The pilot applied full aft cyclic and collective to avoid a collision. The tail boom and tail rotor contacted the wires, causing the separation of the tail rotor blades and the bottom section of the vertical stabilizer. The pilot then initiated an autorotation. Upon touchdown, the helicopter bounced; on the second touchdown, it was moving sideways to the left and rolled over. The helicopter came to rest on the riverbank on its left side.
Damage Assessment
Examination revealed substantial damage to the main rotor assembly, tail rotor assembly, vertical stabilizer, tail boom, and fuselage. The pilot reported no mechanical anomalies with the helicopter prior to the accident.