Blaine Municipal Airport: Blaine, Washington

Airport is located.

During an annual helicopter proficiency evaluation flight, the flight instructor told the commercial pilot to conduct manual governor operations and the flight instructor then positioned the governor switch from "auto" to "man" while on the downwind leg to the runway. After performing a left 360-degree turn, the commercial pilot initiated a normal approach to the runway with the intention of performing a run-on landing. The commercial pilot stated that as the helicopter descended through 20 feet above ground level (agl), he attempted to increase throttle and collective to arrest the rate of descent when it "felt like the bottom fell out" and the helicopter landed hard on the asphalt runway surface in a slight nose high attitude. The flight instructor reported that he heard the aural low rotor RPM horn sound and noticed the rotor RPM was slowing through 350 rpm as the helicopter was descending through about 20 feet agl. The instructor stated that before
he could react to correct the situation the helicopter struck the ground. Examination of the helicopter by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the tail boom was partially bent and one of the main rotor blades was damaged. No preimpact mechanical anomalies with the helicopter were reported by either pilot.
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The pilot reported that he touched down smoothly on the centerline of runway 32. After he lowered the tail of the airplane, a crosswind from the right moved the airplane to the left, resulting in the left wheel departing the side of the runway. The left wheel dug into the soft ground, and the airplane turned left, exited the runway and encountered a ditch. The airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported the winds from 230 degrees at 7 knots.
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The pilot said that he was doing touch-and-go landings, and on his third takeoff, the airplane's engine lost power. He performed a forced landing to rough and soft ground. During the landing roll, the nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. The airplane's left wing strut, left wing spar, and rudder were bent. The reason for the loss of engine power was not determined.