Incident Overview
The pilot landed a helicopter in an open field on his property to attend a meeting. After landing, he observed that the group he was meeting with was on the other side of a ditch about 50 yards away. He decided to hover-taxi closer to their location. While traversing the ditch, the pilot surveyed the area for wires and obstacles, seeing none. He then initiated a turn to land.
Power Line Strike
During the turn, the pilot saw power lines approximately 40 feet in front of and above the helicopter. He executed a quick right turn to avoid the power lines but made contact with the tail rotor. Unaware of the extent of damage to the tail rotor, he lowered the collective and landed as quickly as possible from an altitude of about 8 feet.
Subsequent Damage
In his urgency to shut down the helicopter, the pilot reported that he "dropped the collective very fast," which caused the main rotor blades to impact the tail boom. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical problems with the helicopter. He also noted that the incident occurred after he departed from his normal routine of performing a pre-landing inspection of the intended landing area when he decided to hover-taxi to an alternate location.