Originally Posted by
SASless
I did not hear of dropping of smoke markers for such purposes until I joined a UK Based Helicopter operator which incorporated many such British Military practices into its flying procedures.....and we were. issued smoke grenades for that purpose.
I never did do that as I had learned how to assess wind conditions during an airborne pretending check that included both power required and available along with figuring out the wind along with other issues.
Dropping a smoke grenade works...but also has the risk of starting a wildfire in the process that has to be reckoned with during the decision to drop the smoke or not.
A senior company check pilot set fire to an airfield using that method or a Flare fired from the aircraft as part of a training flight thus we learned to be very careful about using the smoke grenades.
Yet UK SAR and other military units used the technique extensively with very few incidents for a great many years.
Like this Italian pilot, when you think you are too clever to be caught out by wind changes, especially fickle in the mountains, that is when you find out you are not.