Originally Posted by
rudestuff
There is no 500' rule for helicopters in the US, but granted that was a pretty dumb profile.
But FAR 91.119 (a) say "Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing
without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface." Although (d) (1) exempt helicopter from the 500/1000/2000 ft rule mentioned in (b) and (c) of the same paragraph, it does NOT do so for (a)
§ 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.
(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
(d) Helicopters, powered parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft. If the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface -
(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, provided each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA; and
(2) A powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in
paragraph (c) of this section.
From the video, I'd say you have to be Skygod himself, if you under no circumstances don't break 91.119 (a) at any point..... Not long ago there was a couple of accidents discussed here involving R-44's having the same flying profile which involved both people being killed on ground and property damage, at least one with footage as well. Would say that the only difference, is that in this clip there was no emergency....