Originally Posted by
the coyote
I've had 3 engine-outs in single engine helicopters. All with zero damage from the touchdown. Good auto training is important. From what I see on here and social media, a hell of a lot of training seems to teach a high run on speed to a nice hard runway or grass surface. You can't do that to the water, beach, desert, forest, rocks etc. If you can safely get it to a sensible height above the ground, with good RRPM, and at zero speed, you will almost certainly walk away in my view, even if the skids are bent. Far less likely if it rolls over from carrying too much speed onto a hostile surface. Bear in mind they are designed to absorb vertical impact, not forward impact.
I was taught, and always trained autos to touchdown with the engine at idle. If a student or pilot has only learned to run it on at speed, they will almost certainly roll it up when it quits over that ploughed paddock.
3 engine outs. Get a different maintenance facility!