Fatal Helicopter Crash on I-77 in Charlotte, NC
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Fatal Helicopter Crash on I-77 in Charlotte, NC
Appears to be the Channel 3 news (unconfirmed) Robinson R44 helicopter. Happened just after noon local time, next to the very busy Interstate 77. I can't post links yet but it is all over the local news and Twitter. Very sad.
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Here is a link.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Crews have responded to a deadly helicopter crash in the southbound lanes of Interstate 77 in south Charlotte.
The crash is in the area of I-77 near the Nations Ford Road exit. Crews say the ramps from I-85 north and south to I-77 south are now closed and will be for an extended period of time.
According to Medic, two people were pronounced dead on the scene.
The crash is in the area of I-77 near the Nations Ford Road exit. Crews say the ramps from I-85 north and south to I-77 south are now closed and will be for an extended period of time.
According to Medic, two people were pronounced dead on the scene.
Join Date: May 2020
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Assuming I found the correct flight, here is a Google Earth visualization of the last few minutes of the flight as recorded by ADSB Exchange. Altitude is geometric (including EGM96 corrections).
Last edited by airplanecrazy; 23rd Nov 2022 at 15:01. Reason: Added altitude reference
An eyewitness describes the actions of the pilot as exhibiting a "huge level of heroism" police chief then repeats it at a press conference and now, nationwide, the public think the helicopter was partially under control of the pilot and he chose to avoid the highway and crash, rather than safely? land on the highway.
The crew are highly regarded members of the community and are much loved.
In the clip, they have cut the leading line from the police chief, but in a longer version, he attributes the quote to an eyewitness. The result is that heroic quote is now being attributed to an emergency agency, rather than an eyewitness.
https://www.wbtv.com/video/2022/11/2...leading-up-it/
Mjb
The crew are highly regarded members of the community and are much loved.
In the clip, they have cut the leading line from the police chief, but in a longer version, he attributes the quote to an eyewitness. The result is that heroic quote is now being attributed to an emergency agency, rather than an eyewitness.
https://www.wbtv.com/video/2022/11/2...leading-up-it/
Mjb
I love when people on the ground see a TV News helicopter circling overhead and say, "HE'S LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO SET IT DOWN!!" It's silly because we all know that EVERY helicopter pilot always has in mind a place to "set it down" just in case Harry Reasoner's inevitable "something bad" happens. We don't have to circle around looking for one. However... The ADS-B data superimposed over a Google Earth image of the area shows us that good forced-landing areas were...well...not plentiful. Another good reason to not be tootling along at 500' to 600' feet AGL over built-up areas in your helicopter. To me, the plummet at the end of the video looks rather sudden and perhaps unexpected.
OFF-TOPIC NOTE: I thought that the N7094J registration of the Charlotte R-44 looked familiar. Sure enough, back in the 1980's a flew a 206B with that same N-number when I worked for a 135 operator in New York City. Sadly, that ship suffered a power loss while on a sightseeing trip, and the pilot (not me) put it down on one of the rivers that surround Manhattan Island. They landed hard, ripped the floats off and the thing went inverted. One of the pax onboard was unable to get his seatbelt undone and died. Aviation is spooky sometimes.
OFF-TOPIC NOTE: I thought that the N7094J registration of the Charlotte R-44 looked familiar. Sure enough, back in the 1980's a flew a 206B with that same N-number when I worked for a 135 operator in New York City. Sadly, that ship suffered a power loss while on a sightseeing trip, and the pilot (not me) put it down on one of the rivers that surround Manhattan Island. They landed hard, ripped the floats off and the thing went inverted. One of the pax onboard was unable to get his seatbelt undone and died. Aviation is spooky sometimes.
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Here is the preliminary NTSB report. I don't see any major revelations. https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/a...ort/106348/pdf
It was a training sortie so continued turns around a simulated situation would have been exactly the expected profile - what happens after that is the mystery.
