Everyone survived.



https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45327...trying-to-rescue-man

ouch!

Some tricky flying at that altitude. So thin and if the wind kicks up probably easy to over correct

Very scary.

Was that gross pilot error or did the tail rotor go out?

That was so preventable it's sad.

This is why inexperienced pilots shouldn't do backcountry rescues.

The roads in that area are spectacular driving, lots of ascending switchbacks.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
Was that gross pilot error or did the tail rotor go out?

No tail rotor, it's a NOTAR that uses air as anti-torque. It could be an MD-902:

https://www.mdhelicopters.com/md-902-explorer.html

Rotary wing experts feel free to correct me.

Shaka. When the walls fell.

H&K-Guy

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:
Was that gross pilot error or did the tail rotor go out?

No tail rotor, I think that's a NOTAR that uses air as anti-torque. It could be an MD-902:

https://www.mdhelicopters.com/md-902-explorer.html

Rotary wing experts feel free to correct me.

Yeah, on closer observation, there is no traditional rotor. The question stands, though - did the pilot lose directional stability due to mechanical failure or pilot error. . .

Loss of tail rotor effectiveness.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

...The question stands, though - did the pilot lose directional stability due to mechanical failure or pilot error. . .

He did not seem to be in control during the approach, and note that he almost lifted off while they were still loading the rescuee.

From what I'm reading, that NOTAR system, while quieter, lacks the power of a traditional exposed tail rotor. In thin air, the aircraft would more easily experience loss of tail rotor authority. Maybe the only pilot error was that he was flying that type of heli there at all.

He may have been a pretty whizbang driver, actually. I'm guessing that when the bird started auguring toward blue sky, he had a split-second decision to try and recover the flight or set it into the side of the mountain as quickly and gently as possible. He may have saved lives, though not the craft, by doing what he did.

It appears the pilot started losing control as soon as the injured hiker was loaded on board. Maybe the additional weight caused the aircraft to become imbalanced and things cascaded from there.

quote:

Originally posted by H&K-Guy:
Shaka. When the walls fell.

H&K-Guy

Darmok and Jallads sister under the bleachers...

Kopter is Kaput! Glad nobody was seriously injured. Odd things happen when the air gets thin.

Put a watermellon on the floor, then a 4x4 sheet of plywood, then a skateboard, and while performing ballet dance moves, have a drunk freind hop on your skateboard.

Yeah, it works a lot like that.

Was on a UH-1N and had someone "board" during about a 2 foot hover and even in a nice calm day, nowhere near gross, and proper weight and balance, we really got the rock on.

The AC was not a happy camper and uttered some military "Wartime Use Only" phraseology.

That looks like A-Star country to me. Lots of passenger seat time in helos, and for 20 years now, most high-elevation work for SAR and FF in both the Forest Service and NPS has been contracted to companies who fly A-Stars (now Airbus H-125).

Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of Bell Helicopters out there under contract, but if the work includes high-elevation SAR and FF...A-Star

There was an Air Force search & rescue Blackhawk that crashed on Mt. Hood a while back. Similar, and no fatalities here either (a couple of the climbers they were trying to pick up had already died, but nobody was killed in the crash).



Link

quote:

Everyone survived.

That's pretty incredible.