rjsquirrel:
Some facts:
95% of all LTE mishaps are suffered in ONE helicopter model (guess which one!) and 100% occur with one Brand of helicopter.
...And which brand would that be, Sikorsky Skycrane?
If the tail rotor is not supplying enough thrust to counteract the MR torque, thus allowing an uncommanded yaw, then I would accept that condition as one in which the tail rotor is not being effective (i.e. has lost it's effect). If we want to strictly and narrowly define LTE as...well, I'm not sure what the strict definition of LTE is, so I cannot finish that sentence.
We know and even Bell admits that during textbook LTE the tail rotor never stops producing thrust - that it is never "stalled" as an airplane's wing can stall. So for whatever reason, sometimes a yaw rate builds and the maximum thrust provided by the t/r is not sufficient to stop it. Sounds like LTE to me, why quibble?
Uncommanded yaw rates are bad. Pilots must be conditioned if it happens to stick in and hold *full* countertorque pedal for as long as it takes and to reduce the MR torque if and when possible. Neutralizing the controls or putting in anything less than full pedal is not going to help and maybe only going to make things worse.