Video of a Robbie going down in Miami 19th Feb 2022
 

Don’t people autorotate anymore?
what a hard landing!

Well, whatever the cause, you can't blame the weather for this one! Did he suddenly see the parakites and try to push underneath them? Very odd.

at 1.04 theres what appears to be a white flash just forward of the tail rotor. It occurs as it passes the end of the wake in the background. Might be a trick of the light but it seems to accelerate after that

The usual sensationalist reporting. My take on it:

- Engine failure with attempted autorotation
- The helicopter was under directional control during the 'approach' - that's why they avoided the beach and the swimmers
- The helicopter was under directional control during the 'approach', aiming to ditch as close to the shore are practical - that saved their lives
- It's difficult to see, but it looks like they allowed RRPM to decay and the blades were coning up - thereby rendering the flare ineffective

Water, normally hard as concrete, might just have softened up a bit for them. While they didn't actually walk away from the scene, they made it out alive.

It seems to flare, but rate of descent if anything increases in the last second.

So flying over water, auto to land isn't an option due to people, whatever happened about float requirements or sufficient altitude to make it to shore?

Water on this occasion was the best place for all concerned. Including the public. As to height the segment doesn’t show what height he started from. He may have been in autorotation for some time and allowed Nr to decay at the end.
Floats ? You don’t want a Robbie on floats.

It's not about what you want or not, it is what the regulations require.
If you have no option but to ditch, then you should be on floats for everyone's safety.
The US may be different, in most other parts of the world, you are legally required to get to shore or have floats and related water safety gear.
If this isn't acceptable then you shouldn't be in a single piston over water.

Robinson released a safely bulletin a short while back regarding governor issues.

governor non-issues...

From this video, I think the registration is N544SB:

Having flown an R22 Mariner I feel I must take the bait. Why do I not want a Robbie on floats?

I think he could have made it back to shore quite easily. Now, considering how crowded it was, was that the best choice?

With such a crowded beach, the correct choice was to fly nowhere near it or high enough to land clear away from the beach - where he seems to have chosen to fly was definitely the wrong choice.

I agree with the flash, looks like a blade hits the tailboom as the tip path plane seems to go way unstable and the rate of descent accelerates

I have flown a Robinson on floats many times in a former life, and as long as you are cognizant of inverse roll, especially in autos, you will be fine. They just add a whole bunch of weight and drag from what I remember.

Fixed wing idiot savante here, could you explain?

When you bank the wind pushes up on the floats causing the aircraft to want to roll in the other direction.

Yes I was alluding to the weight and drag issues. Should have been clearer.