Helicopter tail-rotor separation near Dallas, 25 March 2022

That's horrendous, what a terrifying accident. 😔
 
How dreadful! The rotor seemed powered well after the tail separation. Would an very quick reaction of "splitting the needles" have allowed some life-saving autorotation?
 
I was just about to follow up myself with:
 
This touches on a fear I have long had. --What do you do on that long ride down, knowing there is nothing you can do? Horrible.
 
This touches on a fear I have long had. --What do you do on that long ride down, knowing there is nothing you can do? Horrible.
Bob Hoover would disagree. Keep flying all the way into the crash.... There is always something one can do. It may be unavailing to save one's life, true, but inaction is never called for. Go down with some great last words, at least!

There was a bizjet pilot who lost his tail in-flight. He was a dead man, and knew it, yet he calmly reported his structural failure on the way down.
 
A Youtube commentary about the accident by a non-pilot but it sounds like he received lots of pilot input about the accident.
There is a fair amount of R22 and R44 pilot comments: semi-rigid underslung rotor system , mast bumping and maneuvering out of settling with power/vortices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMQFx7EipKU
 
You could almost touch off an awesome conspiracy before you croak too!
If you have the time you could write on your arm "MJ is alive!!!"
 
I mean if you got nothin else to do.....
 
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