Regarding the R44 accident: the approach as described and the density altitude would not be commensurate with over pitching. There was no evidence of engine failure. Perhaps the pilot got a "death grip" on the throttle and was unintentionally overriding the governor as he got close to the touchdown point? This is not uncommon for over-stressed R22 and R44 pilots. Although the pilot had already operated into and out of that spot with an R22, perhaps its confines were right at his personal limits? Then already under a high degree of stress (the aforementioned death grip), additional panic followed. The pilot reported a right yaw which is inconsistent with lowering rotor RPM. The pilot also reported he “overrode the governor to increase the throttle”, which would be consistent with right yaw (and not enough left pedal). Seems like some unfortunate ham-handedness. Per the report everything was proper and normal to 10ft AGL. A very nice hover auto could have been done from that height.
One additional oddity: the report said 155kg of fuel on board. Max. fuel on an R44 is 130kg.