Video: Helicopter Plunges to the Ground in Rowlett, Texas

[Liberal In Texas]

From what I can see it looks like a Robinson R44 and the tail rotor is missing. This can happen with something called mast bumping where the main rotor strikes the tail boom and cuts it off.

Further news sources say that there were 2 people involved and both fatal. The helicopter was owned by Sky Helicopters in Garland, Texas. I actually took lessons at Sky awhile back (but not in a Robinson, I don't like those helicopters.)

Link to tweet

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/helicopter-on-fire-after-crashing-in-rowlett-lakeview-parkway-police-say/287-2d35e563-8c7a-4723-8e19-db84b293ccba

Edit to add: I haven't been involved with helicopters for awhile, but the folks I met at Sky Helicopters were very nice people. It's a mom and pop operation. I sincerely hope the victims weren't people I knew.

[ForgedCrank]

7. It wasn't auto-gyro

at that point, the engine was still running. It was just uncontrollable due to the loss of mass at the rear and a functioning tail rotor.
The main rotor was still running at operation speed, that is why it disintegrated so fast when it got out of attitude and inverted.
The engine quit finally when the main rotor came apart.
I can't believe one person actually survived that.

[Liberal In Texas]

10. Nobody survived. Both persons died.

Losing tail rotor authority is catastrophic. Losing power isn't as bad as then the aircraft can autorotate.

[dixiechiken1]

2. JFC, I can't even imagine...

That is terrifying.

[bullwinkle428]

3. Shit. I barely began to search Google, and found this:

The flight lasted all of a minute.

The four-seat helicopter had barely lifted off from John Wayne Airport when it nosed down, clipped two houses and slammed into a third, killing the pilot and two of his three passengers.

“It was like a train hitting a wall,” said Paddi Faubion, who saw the Jan. 30 crash from her balcony in a gated Newport Beach neighborhood.

The cause has yet to be determined, but the type of helicopter is well known to accident investigators: the Robinson R44. It is the world’s best-selling civilian helicopter, a top choice among flight schools, sightseeing companies, police departments and recreational pilots.

It also is exceptionally deadly.

https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-robinson-helicopters/

[Demovictory9]

4. Scary!!!

[ForgedCrank]

6. The fact that even

a single person survived that is nearly unbelievable.

[dalton99a]

14. +1

[mitch96]

9. Holy crap is right...nt

[Lucid Dreamer]

11. OP Lib in TX doesn't like those 'copters... Here's a good reason why.

[link:https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-robinson-helicopters/|

Family-owned Robinson Helicopter Co. disputed The Times’ analysis, contending that the FAA undercounts the flight hours for the R44, leading to an inflated accident rate. The company vigorously defended its record, maintaining that its aircraft are safe and reliable when flown within their operating limits.

Still, safety issues have dogged the Torrance manufacturer over its 45-year history, The Times found, and both the company and the FAA have been slow to address design features and operating characteristics that have caused or contributed to accidents.

Scores of R44 pilots and passengers have been killed in preventable post-crash fires, or in helicopters that dropped from the sky when they suddenly lost lift. Others have died when main rotor blades peeled apart in flight or sliced through tail booms or cockpits.

[Liberal In Texas]

12. Yes. Robinsons are very popular. Mostly because they cost a lot less than other makes.

I took my lessons in a Schweizer 300CB a basic design that's been around for years much like the venerable DC3. It has 3 main rotors and full dual controls. The Robinsons have 2 main rotors and a set of controls that are shared with the two people in the front seats. It is my belief that an odd number of rotors tend to stabilize the aircraft and cause less vibration. I thought the stick configuration looked Micky Mouse. The people at Sky had just gotten a franchise to sell Robinsons and tried to steer me in that direction. I insisted on learning in their lone Schweizer. (I was also familiar with the type having taking lessons in one at a company that went out of business.)

[Lucid Dreamer]

13. Most people don't realize that small/light copters are harder to control than larger ones.

You learned in a Schweizer 300CB which is really light.
I was a Huey crewchief/gunner in RVN and had an Aircraft Commander that would instruct me on our deadhead legs.

The heavier the rotor mass, the sloppier [like me] you could be before getting into real trouble.
Cap'n Ed wasn't teaching me to become a pilot. He was teaching me that I might be able to get a bird down in a life-or-death situation.
I could do that in the UH-1, ... but turn me loose in your little 300CB? With the small amount of experience I had, I doubt if I could get it down right-side-up. I'd be better off stepping up to the Big Ass Sikorsky for safety.

[Liberal In Texas]

17. A few years ago...

I was at an HAI (Helicopter Association International) exposition (the big yearly industry helicopter show) and got some stick time in a Eurocopter EC-135. What a dream. The ship practically flew itself.
The expression "You get what you pay for" is so true. LOL