Moonie S92 Accident

[he1iaviator]

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Moonies founder 'hurt in crash' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7515435.stm)

Is this the first S92 accident write off?

[TiPwEiGhT]

As far as I am aware it is... however it sounds like it wasn't tech issues going by the BBC report.

TiP:(

[alouette]

...the first one I heard of.:} Luckily, they all walked away. Still I wonder, according to this BBC, how bad the weather really was to force a "landing in an unsuitable area" resulting in a post crash fire?

[TiPwEiGhT]

I am intruged too, I have never heard of an aircraft like that land due to wx, unless it really is rough as a badgers ar$e. TiP

[Codger]

S92 function had nothing to do with the emergency. Emergency was called by the owner who heard that there were 300 Moonie cockroaches ready for a mass wedding at that spot in the bush.:)

[Joker's Wild]

Would this be the first S-92 to crash?


CNN - July 19, 2008, 1647GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A helicopter carrying the Rev. Sun Myung Moon crashed into a mountainside Saturday as it attempted an emergency landing, injuring the founder of the Unification Church and 15 others, officials said. The Rev. Sun Myung Moon and members of his family were hurt in the accident, a fire official says.

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon and members of his family were hurt in the accident, a fire official says.

Moon, 88, was slightly injured in the crash, a hospital official said. Members of Moon's family, including his wife, were also hurt, and one person suffered a serious back injury, fire official Kim Wu-jong said.

The S-92 helicopter was carrying 16 people, including 13 church members, when it crashed and burst into flames, the transportation ministry said.

Moon and the others were treated at the nearby church-affiliated Cheongshim Hospital in Gapyeong, about 37 miles northeast of Seoul, hospital official Park Sung-kwon said.

Moon received an X-ray and his condition was not serious, Park said.

No details of his injury were given, but the church said in a brief statement on its Web site that Moon and the others were "safe."

The transportation ministry said the accident took place as the helicopter made an emergency landing due to bad visibility during heavy rain. The exact cause of the crash was still under investigation, police said.

Church official Kim Dae-yeol said the helicopter was flying to Cheongshim Hospital from southern Seoul. The Gapyeong area has several church-affiliated facilities including a museum and schools.

Moon founded the Seoul-based Unification Church in the 1950s and the conservative Washington Times newspaper in 1982. His church owns hundreds of companies around the world, including the United Press International news agency.

The church's doctrine is a mixture of Christian, Confucian and traditional Korean values, and Moon's followers believe he came into the world to complete the work of Jesus Christ.

In 2004, Moon was the center of a coronation ceremony in Washington at which he declared himself the Messiah. He also became widely known for performing mass weddings of followers.

[Gordy]

First crash--second thread: See below:

Here (http://www.pprune.org/forums/rotorheads/335830-moonie-s92-accident.html)

[batboy1970]

the helicopter made an emergency landing due to bad visibility during heavy rain.


That must be why they were bought for the Northern North Sea due to the constant good weather we have at Shetland and beyond... On a good day we get 60mph fog if we are lucky, what chance have we got. It all makes sense 'Not'

[Hippolite]

Well Batboy, presumably (if you are crew) you are qualified and practiced to fly IFR. If you are a passenger, presumably the operator you fly with uses fully qualified IFR pilots.

To assume that you have no chance in bad weather in an S-92 and that you are all doomed to die if it rains or is foggy is facile.

In fact, your post is really a bit silly. I hope you are not a pilot.

[SASless]

No mountains on the North Sea......I would swear there were....and white on the top too! Course it might just be a matter of perspective.

[Horror box]

If there were mountains in the North Sea you probably wouldn't be flying IFR too often.

Now that would depend on the time of year, and whether or not the rips was working! (And of course the height of the mountains)

[Horror box]

My point being that the accident happened in the mountains where flying IFR in a helicopter is not practical (I am talking real mountains - not Munroes). Those of you flying IFR at 3000' out and 2000' back on the North Sea (Batboy?) may wonder why an S-92 would have to land due weather. It is possibly because they were flying VFR and trying to avoid Cumulus Granite visually. When they couldn't they elected to land and it seems that is when the accident occurred.

I am not a S.Korea expert, but I believe Mt Hallasan is the highest point at a little under 2000m, which at around 6400' give or take, shouldnt pose too many problems for an S92 to reach MSA. So I think we may be 'barking up the wrong tree' with this line of argument. As we all know though there can always be many other mitigating circumstances, and speculation is difficult at best without all the facts. Prelim reports from Sikorsky however, claim no technical problem with the aircraft.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Just a thought, but why would the Messiah need a helicopter in the first place?

And why would his Father allow it to crash even if He did?

Or am I missing something....?

[Horror box]

Just a thought, but why would the Messiah need a helicopter in the first place?

Or am I missing something....?

Again probably something to do with the weather. Under normal circumstances he would have just spread his wings and flown himself, but it was really raining hard, and the offer of a dry S92 with a mini bar (dry of course), was too much temptation - even for Him.

[Freewheel]

It might just be that the crew didn't feel qualified or comfortable flying IFR in that location. It might also be that an essential component for the circumstances was unserviceable, or perhaps they were close to their destination point.

The S92 is certified for icing is it not? If the icing equipment is optional, perhaps it was not fitted? 6000ft is more than high enough to encounter icing conditions.

Seems to me that it could well be a sensible decision to pause if any of the above applied, let down somewhat by the arrival at the end.....

Another thing - former military pilots experienced in Korea tell me it's the most wire covered airspace they've ever seen. None of us know what the circumstances were, but I wouldn't like to be trying to recce for wires in poor light with heavy rain while making an unscheduled landing at an unknown HLS.

[industry insider]

Freewheel

Average temperatures in South Korea in July are 25-30 degrees C. Unlikely that there would have been any icing at 6000'.