Heli
There seems to negligent conflict that she had discussed the issue with someone.
The pilot expressed some knowledge of the recommended recovery techniques in response to LTE.
However if you or ATSB think that the quote above implies that a pilot has the capacity to EFFECT recovery from a DISCUSSED procedure then you should think again.
Why has the training syllabus in two countries, here in this example, been found wanting?
But where's this obsession arising here that she was OGE hovering? The report clearly states that she was in a slow orbit around a target banner towing helicopter, which she was filming: not in a hover!
Perhaps you missed this:-
‘The photographer, who was also a licensed helicopter pilot, reported that the helicopter had almost approached a hover as it turned downwind’
(corroborated from the ground)
The wind was reported from the North West. At the most it seems that the wind MAY have been displaced by one cardinal point or less, Hardly a constant quartering tailwind.
As the helicopter approached a hover, relative to the witnesses on the ground, it would have been placed in a position where the relative airflow over the T/R was approaching the forecast wind. I.E. fifteen knots of fresh air from behind, hardly a condition for LTE.
The T/R with positive EFFECT and its full AUTHORITY flicked around as Nick has said while the pilot was manipulating the collective toward an over-pitch by simply pulling up and not watching the MAP.
This is where the pilot became disorientated, and the RRPM horn went off, and unfortunately applied many incorrect control inputs, and, and, to the point where it must have only been a hairsbreadth away from M/R blade stall. They were indeed lucky to survive.
Of course the other pilot would have been scared witless, I don’t blame him at all.
Unfortunately we see many pilots trained in governer equipped A/C who don't monitor MAP and their first indication that they have pulled more than allowed is when the horn goes off or the xmon temp starts to light up.
Revolutionary you should think again :-
Now she knows what happens when you do that and I bet she won't do it again
Does she?
One of the elementary things a check pilot should do is to ambush pilots into exactly this type of scenario. They recover if they were taught the issue or either have the smarts to work it out from previous “discussion” or their own research or they don’t.
Then you simply explain and demonstrate and try again, fail the second time. Well that’s too bad.
If I was that pilot’s chief pilot I would have organised a check flight to see if indeed she has mastered the issue.
Despite earlier jocularity I still wouldn’t go too hard on the pilot, rather the systems that allowed her through these elementary lessons to this massive mistake should be checked, with the British CAA and our OZ CASA on the top of the list for criticism.
I mean be serious, she nearly killed them all.
tet