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On 2/10/13 I arrived at our work site where the helicopter was already parked and ready to fly. Four days prior, on 2/7/13, I had been at the same location waiting to spray the same crop. The weather was overcast and windy which was not suitable for the spray application. I waited for 5 hours on the ground in hopes that the weather would improve. While waiting, I decided to sump the aircraft fuel tank to check for water and debris. The procedure requires the fuel valve to be switched off in order to activate the sump button. After sum ping the fuel, I turned the fuel valve back on and shut the battery off. After 30 minutes I realized that the fuel drain was still dripping every few seconds so I turned the battery back on and closed the fuel valve switch. I then proceeded to push the sump button multiple times to help clear any debris out of the orifice. I was successful in doing so and the leak stopped. I then reached into the aircraft and shut the battery off but I forgot to turn the fuel valve back on. I never flew that day due to the bad weather. On 2/10/13 my schedule finally permitted me to return to the ranch where the helicopter was located and finish the job. I arrived on site at 8:00 in the morning after the frost had started to melt and the temperatures were safe to apply the chemical. Cold temperatures can result in crops being burned if an aerial application takes place.

At 8:20 I decided to go ahead and start the helicopter to commence work. I normally never turn the fuel valve off, so it is not part of my early morning preflight prior to engine start. I turned on the battery, pushed in the boost pump circuit breakers and started the helicopter with a normal start. I let the aircraft idle for maybe 5 minutes while the temperatures reached their operating range and then took off to recon the field before I took my first load. I flew for 5-10 minutes checking the field and the wind then returned to my loading site to fill the spray tanks. I landed on our nurse truck and took my first load.

When I reached the field a minute or two later I turned on the spray pump to prime the line and after I lined up on my first pass and entered the field, I turned on the boom valve to start dispensing the chemical. I immediately noticed an engine out light and a decrease in power. I turned off the boom valve to prepare to land. The helicopter regained power only momentarily and I was about 30 feet in the air at this point going maybe 30-40 KTS. It was a second or two later while on the final portion of my approach to land on the hilltop that the engine shut down completely and I cushioned the landing with the collective and aft cyclic input. The landing site was slightly sloping downhill towards the nose and I hit with the heels of the skids first and then the helicopter rocked forward as it slowed. The rotorblade flexed or broke and chopped off the tailboom at this point. The helicopter rotated 90 degrees to the left and stopped. I was uninjured and happy to be alive!

I reached down to turn off the fuel valve as soon as the commotion stopped and realized that it was already off. It dawned on me very quickly that I had forgotten to turn it back on while sum ping the tank a few days earlier. I shut all power off to the ship and verified that there was no fire or fuel leak. I turned the battery back on along with the radio master switch so that I could radio my loader and explain what had happened. After he figured out where I was, he and the grower drove up and found

Me.

After the radio call for help, I shut down the power again and stepped out of the aircraft to survey the damage. The helicopter was intact except for the tailboom and its associated parts. The fin, t/r gearbox and blades were approximately 100 feet away and behind the helicopter. The rest of the tail boom parts were near the vertical fin. Everything else stayed intact so there was not an extensive debris field