Jan 31, 2002
Accident
Substantial Silver City, MT
Injuries2 serious
Phase of Flight-
ConditionsVMC
OperationFAR 091
Probable Cause
Both the pilot/owner and the FAA inspector pilots' failure to maintain adequate rotor RPM during a practice auto rotation landing which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the pilot/owner's application of excessive anti-torque pedal during the initiation of the auto rotation.
NTSB SEA02FA035