In a conventional tail rotor system, a complete loss of tail rotor thrust can happen from

an internal drive system failure or if an object contacts the tail rotor and damages the
blades or gearbox.
A complete loss of thrust from a drive failure is the easier of the two emergencies for the
pilot to handle. In flight (airspeed at least about 60 knots) the pilot will experience a yaw
to the left or right (it depends of which direction the rotor turns) that is not correctable
with pedal input. The airflow passing over the vertical fin will prevent the helicopter from
spinning and in this situation the helicopter can most likely be flown to a suitable landing
area. Landing without a tail rotor thrust requires an autorotation. When the throttle is
closed and the engine stops applying torque, the need for tail rotor thrust goes away.
Its important to keep the helicopter into the wind to prevent sideways movement during
touchdown. Collective pitch should be added carefully because friction in the
transmission can have a tendency to turn the fuselage. If the helicopter starts sliding
sideways it could easily roll over.
In a hover or with low airspeed a tail rotor drive failure requires quick action. The
helicopter will immediately begin spinning and the pilot will need to close the throttle and
perform a hovering autorotation. A failure low to the ground is normally recoverable;
however, for pilots performing high hovers (utility helicopters doing lift work for example)
it is much more dangerous. In cases where this has happened some pilots have
survived some have not.
Loss of tail rotor thrust resulting from an object striking the tail rotor is very serious.
Many times the damage causes such an imbalance that the tail rotor assembly and
gearbox will break free from the tail boom. The loss of weight at that long of a moment
arm will cause the CG to shift too far forward. In addition to issues resulting from the
loss of tail rotor thrust, the helicopter will pitch down and the pilot most likely will not
have sufficient aft cyclic movement to recover. When this happens in cruise flight or a
high hover the results are normally severe aircraft damage with a high potential for
serious or fatal injuries. When pilots in a low hover (EMS accident scenes for example)
hit something with the tail rotor the damage to the helicopter can be severe as well, but
the potential for human injury is low.







According to FAA Advisory Circular AC90-95, any maneuver that requires the pilot to
operate in a high-power, low-airspeed environment with a left crosswind or tailwind
creates an environment where an unanticipated right yaw may occur. It also advises of
greater susceptibility for loss of tail rotor effectiveness in right turns and states the
phenomena may occur to varying degrees in all single main rotor helicopters at
airspeeds less than 30 knots.
Allowing a loss of translational lift results in a high-power demand with low airspeed and
can set the helicopter up for LTE when certain wind conditions are present. Using the
nose of the helicopter as a 0-degree reference, main rotor vortex interference can occur
with a relative wind of 285 degrees to 315 degrees and cause erratic changes in tail
rotor thrust. Moreover, be aware of tailwinds from a relative wind direction of 120
degrees to 240 degrees as this can cause the helicopter to accelerate a yaw into the
wind. A tail rotor vortex ring state can also occur with a relative wind of 210 degrees to
330 degrees and cause tail rotor thrust variations.
To recover if a sudden unanticipated yaw occurs, apply full pedal to oppose the yaw
while simultaneously moving the cyclic forward to increase speed. If altitude permits,
power should be reduced.


LTE Loss of Tail Rotor Effectiveness: When your tail rotor becomes less efficient due
to wind and vortexs interference. 3 types:

Main Rotor Disk Interference: vortexes coming from the main rotor interfere with the
tail rotor
Wind striking from the 10-11 oclock position
Tail rotor doesnt have the clean air to work with and becomes less effective


Weathercock: When the winds are coming directly from behind and push on the tail
and the main stabilizer making the helicopter want to spin around into the wind.
4-8 oclock position




Tail rotor vortex state: wind blows the vortexes back into the tail rotor
7-11 oclock position


Recognition:
A large amount of left pedal and still continuing to spin or rotate
Push feeling in moderate to high winds

Recovery:
Hover: Take out a bit of torque, forward cyclic gain ETL
At altitude: if its too bad at altitude enter an auto, take the torque out of the system