Originally Posted by
Jackonicko
Simple question for my betters:
Would a lift into a low hover transitioning into a more 'horizontal' take off be inherently safer than a departure like this one? (Given a suitable obstacle free 'runway'/take off path....)
And would a suitable take off run have been available outside the stadium?
What do you mean by "inherently safer"? If the t/r drive was faulty (if that is what caused this, hopefully initial findings will soon be made public) the accident might have occurred at a slightly different time but would possibly have put the aircraft down in a less fortunate place for those on the ground. Helicopters are designed to operate vertically, btw! The departure flown appears to have followed a certified Category A / Class 1 profile so it should have been as safe as any other.