Jellycopter - I just think it is down to training - and that includes knowing the cards through self-study and practice in the simulator.
I think the difference between a TR drive failure and a TR control failure is quite clear, perhaps because I have taught it quite a lot.
TR drive and TR control failures were mandatory parts of the 6-monthly sim on the Sea King as I am sure they are on many other types.
I don't know what you would call the two conditions that would be any clearer.
Crab, if I had a Euro for every misguided helicopter pilot that glibly stated that they'd autorotate in the event of a TRCF I'd be quite a bit better off than I am now.
If you turn the problem through 90 degrees, no one ever gets the drills for stuck collective mixed up with MGB/input drive failure. But we're talking, effectively, the same thing. Why do less well trained crews continue to make the same mistake?
The fact that someone on this thread decided to bring stuck pedals/TRCF into it shows the depth and universal nature of the problem.
I wish, for the good of Rotary aviation, people would stop using the term 'Tail Rotor' when referring to a control malfunction. Call it what it is, a Yaw Control Malfunction.