About five minutes after take-off, the pilot heard a change in engine note and felt a slight yaw to the left. This occurred several times in quick succession. The pilot reduced power and commenced a descent towards a disused mining area. At about 200 feet agl, the engine failed and an autorotational descent was set up. As the pilot was attempting to manoeuvre the helicopter into wind and clear of some mullock heaps, the helicopter touched down heavily on the rear of the landing skids and the tail rotor struck the ground. The main rotor then severed the tail boom and the helicopter came to rest ten metres from the initial point of impact. The engine oil cooler supply line was too short for its length of run and was routed past a stud on one of the magnetos. The stud abraded the line to the point where it caused it to leak and the loss of oil resulted in the engine seizing.
