Perhaps the pilot lost all cockpit indicators through some serious electrical fault and had assumed last known state or single engine ops and was initially unaware that he had actually lost both engines.
Funnily enough, this exact time last week my car battery literally exploded causing the instrument cluster to flicker into reset mode continually. It turned out to be the voltage regulator had failed on the alternator which pumped high voltage in the sealed battery causing the electrolyte to boil and divest its pent up pressure in a mater of minutes spraying acid all over nearby components.
Obviously helicopter's electrical systems with their extra complexity are built to significantly higher standards, but by being so close to returning to base after a few hours out perhaps made the occurrence of a double engine failure even harder to believe before it was too late.
I flew a JetBanger with a weak battery (started with external power) when the generator failed in flight. Lost radios, fuel pressure and even the enunciator (PTT did nothing). First indication was a slight twitch in the tail, also observed on the Tq dial (about 1%), which was caused by the two electric fuel pumps on their way out. Maneuvering limits were observed for a safe RTB.
Last edited by cattletruck; 10th Dec 2013 at 04:57.
Reason: tidy