Incident Overview
A student pilot, holding a private pilot certificate with a helicopter rating and receiving instruction toward a commercial helicopter pilot certificate, was involved in an accident during a training flight. The mishap occurred while practicing autorotations under the supervision of a flight instructor.
Sequence of Events
According to the instructor, the student began a landing flare following a practice autorotation. The student pulled aft on the cyclic too early, causing an increase in main rotor rpm and a decrease in airspeed. In response, the instructor adjusted the throttle in an attempt to reduce the rpm. Subsequently, the student applied excessive left pedal, which resulted in the helicopter making a 180-degree turn while approximately six feet above the ground.
Instructor Intervention and Landing
To prevent the situation from worsening, the instructor decreased the collective and placed the helicopter onto the ground. The helicopter made contact with the ground while skidding backwards, leading to substantial damage to the tail boom.
Damage
The tail boom sustained substantial damage as a result of the ground contact during the backward skid.