What happened
On March 27, 2024, an Agusta AB 206B helicopter was conducting a private training flight at Landshut Airfield. The flight involved a pilot and a flight instructor performing several low-altitude emergency landing maneuvers in the vicinity of the airfield. Following these exercises, the crew planned to conclude the flight with an autorotation landing on the grass runway 07, utilizing engine idle power.
At approximately 1,200 feet AGL, while maintaining a speed of about 80 KIAS, the crew initiated the autorotation. Although the descent was initially stabilized with the main rotor RPM within the upper green arc, the flare was performed too high, causing the rotor RPM to decay. In an attempt to recover engine power and increase rotor speed, the pilot attempted to increase the throttle. However, the pilot reported that the throttle was difficult to move, leading to the mistaken impression that it had already been advanced.
As the main rotor RPM continued to drop, the helicopter lost lift and settled heavily onto the rear of the skids in a nose-up attitude. This impact triggered a forward pitching moment, causing the main rotor blades to strike the tail boom. The impact was severe enough to sever the tail boom from the aircraft. The helicopter came to a stop upright on the grass runway. There were no injuries to the two occupants.
The investigation
The BFU examined the wreckage at the scene, noting that the tail boom and tail rotor had been separated from the main fuselage. Debris, including the tail rotor shaft and various small components, was scattered within a 15-meter radius. The investigation also noted damage to the main rotor blades and ground contact marks on one of the tail rotor blades. The investigation found no evidence of technical malfunctions that could have caused the rotor strike.