Originally Posted by
FH1100 Pilot
Yeah, but see, there are a gazillion different scenarios and circumstances to make any hard-and-fast "rules." Every flight department is different. Every boss is different. Every mission is different.
I used to fly for a rich guy (FAR Part 91) whose home base was down here along the U.S. gulf coast. He had a hunting camp about 65 miles north - about 35-40 minutes on a good day. Easy-peasy. This part of the state is mostly flat, open farmland, and we could easily and safely do the flight at 400' agl if we had to. Except... Except there was one area...not really a "ridge"...just some higher ground that ran perpendicular to our flight path between here and there. We knew the terrain - knew the roads and knew there were no antennas or powerlines along the way. We'd done the route dozens of times over the years.
Sure enough, one day we launched under a low ceiling and were plugging along at 300-400 feet. All was good until we got to that high point, where the clouds were down in the trees. I slowed down and got down over a lightly traveled country road. I won't lie, it was tense, and I'm sure that the few car drivers we encountered thought we were crazy. After what seemed like an eternity, the ground fell away and gave us some clearance between it and the clouds. We continued on to the hunting camp. Was it horribly unsafe? I didn't think so. However, I don't think the FAA would've been too impressed. But this was before the rule changed to the "1/2-mile minimum viz" requirement.
Helicopters fly low - it's what we do: off-airport to off-airport. Sometimes, the only reason we go to an actual airport is to get fuel. And a lot of times, we fly in weather conditions that keep our fixed-wing brethren cowering like scared little girls in pilot lounges all across the nation, gazing out the window and going, "It's 900 and 2.5 out there. Look at that crazy helicopter pilot - he's gonna get himself killed! Let's get another cup of this 'free' coffee and if it hasn't improved in fifteen minutes, let's...and by "let's" I mean "you" call the boss and tell him that we're cancelled for the day."
Your last paragraph shows the attitude that will keep killing helicopter pilots. I get that we operate differently to fixed wing around weather. This is because we can slow down or land as it turns crap. They can't therefore have higher mins. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have any minima.
Your story reads like you were hover taxiing at or below tree top height in cloud just to drop a dude at his hunting spot. You said yourself it was tense but I get the feeling you would do it again. Just because we CAN do that doesn't mean we SHOULD do it. Had you been on a rescue then yeah maybe that's worth it but in your case the juice ain't worth the squeeze.
I do want to note that I have never faced the commercial pressure that does appear to be the main issue