Accident Sequence
The helicopter was on an aerial observation flight, with the pilot flying locally for about 40 minutes. The pilot reported that the helicopter was positioned upwind when he began flying crosswind over a tree line, descending to between 10 and 15 feet above the ground. The pilot stopped the helicopter's descent and forward speed to make a left pedal turn. While in a stabilized and stationary downwind hover for about two to three seconds, the helicopter suddenly pitched forward without cyclic input and started to move forward and descend.
For about one to two seconds, the helicopter continued to accelerate forward while losing more altitude. The pilot was unable to stop the helicopter's forward movement with full aft cyclic nor could he stop the descent by adding power to the engine's red line. He decided to make a right turn into the wind with right pedal and cyclic, during which further altitude was lost.
Ground Contact
The front of the right skid came into contact with the ground, and the helicopter settled onto its right side after the main rotor struck the ground. The helicopter sustained substantial tail boom damage.
Pilot Report
The pilot indicated that the helicopter was within weight and balance limits and that there were no mechanical malfunctions during the accident flight.