IHL:
The CoJo was a long time friend of mine and his background was Mil. The only thing that has come out of the inquiry is that he had been trained to jettison the door prior to water contact in an imminent ditching situation. Knowing his background, I can't figure out who would advocate the door being jettisoned above translational.
From what has been published by TSB in Canada, the aircraft appeared to be returning to shore, when it went down. The initial report points to the door jettison as the cause of the loss of T/R. The door went throught the mast and then through the T/R.
As to why it was jettisoned, I guess we'll never know. I guess the best question to ask in this forum is, When should you jettison the doors. My opinion is only when you have a controlled ditching situation and only at a reduced airspeed i.e. less than 35 KIAS.
As for the responses to this topic, I think we've found a winner. No shortage of expertise here. I think this will be a real benefit to all pilots as the techniques we use on mediums and heavies are not always taught to those flying SE Light Helis. Although the same procedures will generaly work on all types.
One procedure I haven't heard yet is for a jammed pedal situation. On the 76 we teach our pilots to 'Beep Up' for a stuck right pedal and to 'Beep Down' for a stuck left pedal. The logic being, more power to reduce for the RPF (i.e. nose swings left) and more power available for the LPF (i.e. nose swings right). This technique can be equally useful for a 206, 500, 355 etc. Remember, the engine will still help you in the recovery whether it is a power reduction or power increase.
Cheers, OffshoreIgor
