Having written the ER's for a couple of helos, I surely hope that all of us do what those procedures say, as a general rule.
The concept is simple, like the Hypocratic Oath, "Do no harm."
If it says shut down, do so unless you are driven to need that chipped engine and will go into the drink without it. If it says idle, do only that unless that pesky engine is doing something else that demands attention, like screeching or pulsating like it is going to get very angry if you keep it running.
Most of all chips are fuzz, to the tune of 95% or more (ppruner with real data, jump in) and most accidents are caused when pilots do something less than perfectly. To shut down an otherwise healthy engine for a non-fuzzburn chip light might be a pretty bad bet, unless the flight manual says shut it down.
Rule of thumb, half the engine noise is less than half the fun, don't shut down an engine unless asked to. If asked to, then do so.
Last edited by NickLappos; 19th Dec 2003 at 04:40.