Originally Posted by Devil_Wings44
There is a tale that a helicopter returning from a Morecombe Bay oil platform was asked to follow in behind another and at the last moment saw in the mist it was instead an offshore windmill, managed to manouver past it and nearly hit another.
OK so:
1. How do you mistake a wind turbine for a helicopter in poor vis? One has lights the other doesnt. And helicopter rotors don't generally rotate vertically.
2. If the vis was that bad why werent they IFR?
3. If they were marginal VMC at low level why werent they looking at their chart? Rule 5 still applies - 500ft from any structure.
4. There aren't any offshore wind turbines higher than 350ft (yet).
5. If they were marginal VMC at low level JAR-OPS says the limits are vis 1500 metres and cloudbase 600ft.
Ah well I suppose you did say it was a "tale"
NS