Originally Posted by
Autonomous Collectiv
I think you'll find that a day VFR pilot in a day VFR aircraft turned away from any discernible horizon or attitude reference and lost control.
This.
Based on the partial information and rumors available.
It’s likely, that if mast bumping and subsequent rotor separation occurred, it was the final result of the above, and had they been on board a fully articulated or rigid rotor system equipped AC, the outcome would have been similar. Just more likely the blades would have been attached as they hit the ocean.
Best we can do is learn from this seemingly avoidable tragedy.
In hindsight, a night in Coffs could have been a great night out.
As mentioned, a night in the “Bell Hotel” would have been unremarkable.
