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. . .
Fear God and Dread Nought Admiral of the Fleet Sir Jacky Fisher
August 07, 2017, 10:05 PM
FN in MT
Loss of tail rotor effectiveness.
August 07, 2017, 10:13 PM
Sigmund
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.
August 07, 2017, 10:53 PM
kkina
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.
Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice - pull down your pants and slide on the ice. ʘ ͜ʖ ʘ
August 08, 2017, 12:07 AM
darthfuster
quote:
Originally posted by H&K-Guy: Shaka. When the walls fell.
H&K-Guy
Darmok and Jallads sister under the bleachers...
You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
August 08, 2017, 12:17 AM
Sailor1911
Kopter is Kaput! Glad nobody was seriously injured. Odd things happen when the air gets thin.
Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.
“If in winning a race, you lose the respect of your fellow competitors, then you have won nothing” - Paul Elvstrom "The Great Dane" 1928 - 2016
August 08, 2017, 09:15 AM
sigmonkey
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.
"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" ✡ Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
August 08, 2017, 10:00 AM
TMats
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
_______________________________________________________ despite them
August 08, 2017, 10:10 AM
Expert308
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).