What happened
Following a brief shutdown at a helipad near the Cranbrook VOR site, the pilot of a ski-equipped Eurocopter AS-350D, registration C-GBRC, prepared for departure with two passengers. After a successful initial hover and transition into a climbing, forward flight at approximately 7,500 feet, the aircraft experienced a sudden, uncommanded decay in main rotor RPM.
As the rotor speed dropped, the pilot attempted to regain power by pushing forward on the cyclic and lowering the collective. However, the loss of RPM rendered continued flight impossible. Facing an inevitable forced landing on a downward-sllyping, snow-covered surface, the pilot flared the aircraft at 30 feet above the ground and landed straight ahead into deep snow. The impact caused the helicopter to slide and roll onto its right side. While the three occupants escaped the wreckage without injury, the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Notably, the onboard emergency locator transmitter (ELT) failed to activate despite being armed for flight, and the pilot had previously noted that the engine appeared to be running hotter than normal during the flight.