A BHT222 struck the landing pad surface with the tail rotor during loss of control at lift off.

Attributes
ACN	913349
Time
Date	201010
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Bell Helicopter 222
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Route In Use	None
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 35 Flight Crew Total 5260 Flight Crew Type 150
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control

Narrative:

After conducting a successful 'hot' deplaning on an elevated landing pad; I completed the before takeoff checks and lifted off again. The takeoff was not smoothly coordinated and the tail rotor made contact with the pad deck. Weather at the time was clear skies with a slight tailwind of five knots. The aircraft was within cg limits and the parking brake was set. Night vision goggles were in use. During the takeoff sequence I had not compensated enough for the aft cg shift of the lighter gross weight and the aircraft moved forward immediately after lifting.it was while compensating for this movement that I felt the tail skid make contact with the landing pad. I transitioned to forward flight and made an uneventful landing later for fuel. There were no indications or symptoms during the flight of tail rotor damage. After shutdown; I immediately inspected the tail skid which showed fresh paint scrapings that confirmed it had made contact with the hospital pad. I then inspected the tail rotor blades and discovered damage to both blade tips. I immediately called the company and informed them of the incident.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BHT222 struck the landing pad surface with the tail rotor during loss of control at lift off.

Narrative: After conducting a successful 'hot' deplaning on an elevated landing pad; I completed the Before Takeoff Checks and lifted off again. The takeoff was not smoothly coordinated and the tail rotor made contact with the pad deck. Weather at the time was clear skies with a slight tailwind of five knots. The aircraft was within CG limits and the parking brake was set. Night Vision Goggles were in use. During the takeoff sequence I had not compensated enough for the aft CG shift of the lighter gross weight and the aircraft moved forward immediately after lifting.It was while compensating for this movement that I felt the tail skid make contact with the landing pad. I transitioned to forward flight and made an uneventful landing later for fuel. There were no indications or symptoms during the flight of tail rotor damage. After shutdown; I immediately inspected the tail skid which showed fresh paint scrapings that confirmed it had made contact with the hospital pad. I then inspected the tail rotor blades and discovered damage to both blade tips. I immediately called the company and informed them of the incident.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.