Filming accident USA

[mickjoebill]

http://www.kcci.com/news/9454864/detail.html

Sad news of a accident during filming of a feature film on June 30th in Cedar Rapids
Cameraman was killed, pilot and producer survive with serious injuries.


Police statement and witnesses state it hit wires FAA preliminary report states the same.

Shot involved following a car down a road.
Crew members report Tyler side mount in use which "crushed cameraman's chest" according to camera assistant who had to retrieve film from the camera for FAA.

Lots of anguish and anti heli sentiment on the crew forums as a senior producer is blamed for choosing the "72 year old crop dusting pilot" as well as continuing to shoot after the accident, for the rest of the day.

This is the second fatality (cameraman)in the last 12 months in the USA involving tracking a car on a road where the rotors hit something.
At least 5th accident involving low level doors off shooting in 18 months.

Does the pilot community recognise there is an (avoidable) problem involving combination of low level flying and tracking a subject with a degree of crabbing, that perhaps could be given particular attention at the flight school stage?

The root cause of these accidents appear to be pilot "human performance" issues.


Mickjoebill

[Barndweller]

It's always difficult to comment after an accident where someone has died or been injured.
My big thought regarding this is if you are tracking an moving object for a purpose such as this then you should do a thoughrough check of the area before hand to identify hazards such as wires / trees etc. Even if you do that it is still so very easy to become focused on the target and miss / forget the peripherals.
"There but for the grace of God tread I"

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'Time spent on recconaisance is never wasted'.

[Disguise Delimit]

MJB asks if students should be trained in film work at the flight school stage???

No, this stuff is definitely post-graduate work. The student has enough on his plate just trying to fly the aircraft, without trying to operate it. That's why they call it Flight School, not Operations School.

A friend lost his B206 to an ignorant (and I mean it in the true sense of the word) Japanese film crew, again on a car shoot. He drove to the area of the shoot for a survey, and saw that their chosen site had power lines crossing the road. He showed them that a site 400 m further down the road was just as suitable, and didn't have the wires. They moved the car and rigs down to the new site, and he drove several miles back to where the chopper was being fitted with the camera.

Some hours later, as usual, the crew is screaming for the chopper, and as usual the mount is the delaying factor. Eventually it is ready, and he flies to the rigs, lines up on the car, and begins the run.

Can you tell what is going to happen? Yes, the Japanese crew decided they liked the first site better, and moved all the gear back to the first spot.

TWANG!:sad: SPLAT!!:eek:

Not my fault, says the crew.....:(

[Head Turner]

I am very upset to read again about an accident that involved filming. The press and film personnel unreasonably pressurise helicopter crews into all sorts of dangerous situations to get the results they want to make huge amounts of money.
Time spent on recce is never wasted.

[farmpilot]

Or perhaps using a different mount? We've been using the side mount for years because it's cheaper than the ball.

With HD the ball is becoming far cheaper and with the longer lenses you can go further away thus reducing you chances of a quick stoppage/wire strike.

It might be cheaper on the day to use a side mount but in the long run it can cost WAY more.

There needs to be more education in the use of aerial platforms.

We all have a part to play in reducing these sorts of accidents.

farmpilot

[B Sousa]

"Lots of anguish and anti heli sentiment on the crew forums as a senior producer is blamed for choosing the "72 year old crop dusting pilot" as well as continuing to shoot after the accident, for the rest of the day."

Dont know that this is a problem. Movies are a high risk enviornment and this is not the first fatality. In fact a similar accident occured a year or so ago in the Southern California desert involving one of the top Film Pilots. Plenty of experience.
Things happen.......