20100122026059A

Pilot stated he was nearing his first aerial application pass traveling in a northwest direction, turning and decending. Approximate altitude of 80 feet and airspeed of about 70 mph. He heard a 'pop' and experienced vibration. He decided to land close to a road. He flared but had "nothing left" in collective control and experienced a hard landing. The landing was in a muddy field approximately thirty feet from the road. The landing was at near zero airspeed as there was negligible forward momentum. The pop heard and the vibration felt by the pilot are consistant with the loss of a main rotor counter-weight. The counter-weight has not been located. The remaining rod end shows evidence of an old crack with rust visible at the point of failure. The aircraft received considerable damage consistant with a hard landing: the main rotor blades contacted the tail boom, one receiving some marking and brusing. The other blade sheared off the tail boom and de-laminated and shredded, sending parts and pieces for a distance of approximately forty yards, in all directions. All four lower motor mounts were broken off allowing the engine to move forward where it made contact with the control servos and broke the collective linkage, broke the frame in several places on the right side, both magnetos were broken off, and both exhaust pipes were broken or bent.