Incident Overview
During a training flight, a pilot was performing a full down practice autorotation, which involves landing the helicopter as the final step of the maneuver. As the helicopter contacted the ground during the landing sequence, it bounced. The bounce caused the main rotor blades to strike the tail boom, resulting in the severance of the tail rotor drive shaft.
Pilot Statement
The pilot stated that the accident could have been prevented if he had applied more forward cyclic after the helicopter had contacted the ground. He reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the helicopter.
No Prior Issues
No mechanical anomalies were identified before the incident, and the pilot did not report any system or component failures leading up to the event.