Magplug, a very succinct description of a very possible scenario. The critical duties of a P2 following a loss of TR control is to to shut down the engines ASAP while the P1 attempts to enter Autorotation. As somebody else mentioned, with roof mounted ECLs, this is going to be difficult if not impossible for a single pilot. Whenever I flew with a non-rated person in the left seat, the duties always included a full brief on how to close the ECLs in an emergency, but thankfully I never got to find out if any of that information had been absorbed.
Originally Posted by
Magplug
The mention of 'dead man's curve' by the media is not so much rubbish as is being represented above.
It you suffer a TR failure in any conventional helicopter in a normal hover then you have no option but to check down on the collective and cushion the subsequent touchdown. If you are in a hover high above the ground then your chances of a tidy touchdown diminish with height. Away from the ground the only way to stop the spinning from the anti-torque reaction is to chop both engines by simultaneously retarding both power levers and dump the collective to enter autorotation.
Unfortunately you now have another problem of sorting out the self-induced double engine failure. You now need forward airspeed of at least 40-60 knots to execute an engines-off landing. To gain that airspeed you have to pitch sharply nose-down which not only increases your rate of descent but appreciably kills some of your remaining rotor RPM which is your life blood in executing a successful EOL. The chances of a successful EOL from a free-air hover of between 50 and 1000 feet are negligible.... even before you consider the complication of the confined area beneath you..... that's the dead man's curve.