I don't think those words mean what you think they mean.
Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
So there you have it, straight from the horse's (NTSB's) mouth: Collective-first is wrong.
That's funny, I read the same report and did not find them saying that.
Let's peak at what they actually wrote, and what you excerpted from the report:
the pilot must simultaneously apply aft cyclic and down collective in order to maintain rotor rpm and execute a successful autorotation.
However, the pilot’s autorotation training was done at airspeeds below cruise where less aft cyclic is needed to enter an autorotation.
They identify the case as "at cruise speed." They identify his training as not covering the loss of power at cruise speed. That's a systemic error, or "supervisory error" as we used to call it in the Navy when we investigated mishaps. To a certain extent, you can argue that by that lack in his training he was set up ... if you want to so argue. But shouldn't a professional pilot know about how that works and should work? I'll argue that a professional pilot should, and I hope you'll agree with me.
The key takeaway is that he was a 116 knots, which I gather is higher than "best" autorotation speed.
When he lost the engines
he did not transition to best auto speed as he lowered the collective, which you do have to do. Funny, the NTSB concurs with me, on the simultaneity of how that happens. As before, helicopter pilots fly with both hand, and helicopter pilots multi task. If you don't or can't, fly something else.
As to your analysis, it is misleading to taking these control inputs in isolation. That isn't how helicopter flying is done. The controls work together.
Other than that little carping, I think you made some good points in your post. I completely agree with you that he either had no plan, or the plan he had was badly executed.