Originally Posted by
evil7
Or maybe the situation / location was very professionally assessed by very experienced ground crew which are part of a highly professional Team and the driver trusts them 100% - who knows?
In the new digital times where everything is on video in the moment it happens, for me it seems that the armchair pilots always know it better! Why do some here not accept that other people also know how to use their working tools?
Well evil7,
it seems, that you either haven't learned how to discuss properly or you are not willing to do so.
Instead of picking up arguments and checking pro/contra - where you can also bring in your opinion, you decide to make assumptions about the situation and getting personal, calling pilots, which have a different view of the flight "armchair pilots".
If you're not able, to take on - productive criticism - I wouldn't hire you as a pilot - then you are risk for yourself - and others.
Nobody is perfect - and with doing things often enough, someone easily looses the perspective - which I guess happened here.
But accidents happen fast - have a look through helicopter crashes at YouTube. Most of the pilots didn't believe, it could happen to them....
To the arguments.
Even with a highly trained and professional crew - at the end, if he survives a crash, they get the pilot at his balls.
He's responsible for the safe conduction of the flight. The crew might also be mentioned in the report as well as the operations - but the pilot decides.
Even the best ground crew can't look behind every fence, access the stability of every fence, roof and tree in the area.
On the video you see bystanders taking videos and photographs. Ever seen a man hit by a branch?
You can believe me, that even with a 206 you can bring down trees - normally not with the first flight, or the second - but with the thirty+ flight, you can....
And nobody will tell you when it will happen.
I´ve blown fences over, have seen metal advertisement sheets (stadium) go flying higher then the helicopter, cars damaged by flying debris- and learned from that.
You're somehow right, by now I'm actually sitting with my ATPL(H) more time in a chair then a cockpit - but only to get the other boys flying - safely.
Coordinating and preparing flights and missions I've additional insight in helicopter operations.
The bills from the airfields for landing/refueling are running over my desk, as well as the noise complaints and the damage claims of people....
Belive me, five minutes flying for safe operations/landing, without risking damage to property, is worth considering....
(Thats without considering a crash!)
My two cents