Originally Posted by
Rotorbee
I wasn't sure, so I watched the video again. I think you hear a "clonk" and then comes the horn. He hit something first while turning, therefore all speculation about having enough power are pointless. He had to descend, otherwise he would haven in the clouds.
I looked in what region he was flying and he could have been between 6'000 to 7'000 feet, but a BA with 6 people on board should be able to handle that.
Rotorbee I rewatched too, you were right he hit the tree before the horn came on. It was the turn that came well before the impact not the horn. I’m still not convinced the turn was intentional though, at least the end of it anyway. He looks like he is sinking at the same time and you can certainly lose tail rotor authority while having flight RPM.
It could have been an intentional turn who knows? To me it seems very flat aggressive turn with low AOB that’s what leads me to think it might not have been intentional.
Whether it was or not doesn’t really matter I think everyone knew what went wrong before even watching the video.
It will be interesting to see what comes out in the accident report. Once upon a time when I was crazy enough to ride motor bikes I remember a Mate saying when he had an accident once how he climbed on the bike as it slid down the road to protect himself. I remember thinking BS, you happened to find yourself sitting on the bike while it was sliding down the road, there was no decision in that. Was the left turn initiated by the Pilot or the Aircraft? We will probably never know both are possible maybe it was a little of each.