Uplinker Just as an additional explanation. When a helicopter flies slow, it needs a lot of power. It is the same thing as a FW trying to hold altitude while going slower and slower. In a FW, once behind the bottom of the power curve, you can get in trouble by stalling the plane while using full power, therefore getting behind the power curve is something most pilots avoid. In a helicopter, we operate a lot in this region, it is normal, therefore power management is crucial. Many times you can't just "spool up"(the RPM does not vary a lot in a helicopter, but this is another longer subject) the engine. In this case he was heavy and slow, out of ground effect, it was hot and humid and his ship wasn't the strongest of the bunch (was an AB, no?). while he tried to turn left with his pedals, which would give him a bit more power by unloading the tail rotor, he did not have enough left to hover out of ground effect. He is not the first and will not be the last.