Originally Posted by
eswillie
I've seen quite a few posts in the thread stating that there was no apparent tail strike previous to the start of rotation. I'm betting I can't find it again, but I did watch one video taken from nearly directly below and slightly to the right of the Triple Deuce as it approached the landing area, In that short clip, the rear of the tail boom and the tail rotor can be seen to contact some of the top outer branches or fronds of the palm, after which the rotation to the right begins nearly immediately. As someone who sat half a dozen feet in front of spinning main and tail rotors for a decade of my life, I'm always conscious of the threat of contact, often when there have been only inches to spare. From any of the other videos I watched, I did not see that contact, but I was thankful for the one person who caught it, and I would hope that it gets into the record during the investigation.
I really have no idea what you are talking about - there are a bunch of videos where it is entirely clear that the TR is nowhere near any part of any tree.