As time moves on, so the facts come to light. The information posted by Warloc76 and Sir Cumference, are factually correct.
Rumour has it that the pilot is in DEEP dwang, and may have his licence revoked and suspended.
Furthermore, the pilot was not very economical with the truth when questioned by the CAA official directly after the show.
Rumour has it that the pilot flew the sequence during his "validation flight" on the Friday, and the Airshow Director and Safety Officer authorized the manouver based on information supplied to them by the pilot that Bell and the CAA had approved the manouvers, which we now know, was not the case.
The fact that this pilot was trained in Germany by the factory pilots from MBB how to loop and roll a BK 117 and MBB 105, does not necessarily mean that he, as a "Professional pilot", is entitled to break the rules (and the law) by an act of such stupidity. Stupidity?? YES! The fact that Bell have withdrawn the warranties on the machine, theoretically renders it worthless. NO re-sale value! Zero. May just as well be dumped as scrap.
The 407 handbook clearly states NO aerobatic manouvers permitted, and this SHOULD be respected.
I don't care what anyone says, but this pilot should be brought to book. Not only has he given South African pilots a bad name (Which is clearly the case described on another forum here on PPRUNE) but he has caused huge financial harm to the owners of the helicopter.
The owners should sue him for the replacement costs of a new 407. I would if it was mine!!!
