What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The pilot was returning to the airport after patrol and was practicing an auto-rotation on runway 26L. At the bottom of the auto-rotation, the pilot started the flare to slow the helicopter and then made the initial collective pull to slow the descent. The helicopter leveled off and the pilot continued to pull collective. The pilot then realized that he had forgotten to add throttle and experienced a hard landing. The tail boom contacted the ground and was forced up into the path of the main rotor blades. This severed the tail boom. The helicopter remained upright on its skids.
As the FAA filed it
THE PILOT WAS RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT AFTER PATROL AND WAS PRACTICING AN AUTO-ROTATION ON RUNWAY 26L. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE AUTO-ROTATION, THE PILOT STARTED THE FLARE TO SLOW THE HELICOPTER AND THEN MADE THE INITIAL COLLECTIVE PULL TO SLOW THE DESCENT. THE HELICOPTER LEVELED OFF AND THE PILOT CONTINUED TO PULL COLLECTIVE. THE PILOT THEN REALIZED THAT HE HAD FORGOTTEN TO ADD THROTTLE AND EXPERIENCED A HARD LANDING. THE TAIL BOOM CONTACTED THE GROUND AND WAS FORCED UP INTO THE PATH OF THE MAIN ROTOR BLADES. THIS SEVERED THE TAIL BOOM. THE HELICOPTER REMAINED UPRIGHT ON ITS SKIDS.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.