It's a long time since I flew Robinsons, or did that kind of flying in anything else either, so the chat on "whys and wherefores" is interesting.
It seems to me, however, that the discussion is ignoring/avoiding another, more personal aspect to this incident.
I am disappointed to hear the girl has stood down, presumably voluntarily. A few gasps notwithstanding, and presuming it was her voice we were listening to, she didn't seem to get in that much of a flap about it - freezing up is one thing but she didn't lose control completely either, as evidenced by the aircraft continuing to a safe landing and remaining undamaged.
Who amongst us hasn't had a sphincter-tightening moment from which both we and the aircraft emerged unscathed due more to good fortune than experience?
Applying the old horse-riding theory that a fallen rider should be put back in the saddle immediately to avoid any fear-based loss of confidence, it seems a concern that the girl didn't get back in the air for a month after the incident (I may have misread this time element). Who was responsible for this?
There may be many factors of which I am unaware that made this happen, of course, but any delay could well have contributed to her deciding to stop flying? A few too many sleepless nights reliving the incident (including the voice of the cameramen screeching in her ear) without any proper debrief or even counselling where necessary, would have easily sent things off in the wrong direction.
So near the 1,000 hour mark - seems a shame!
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising again each time we fall!"
Last edited by heliski22; 9th Nov 2007 at 18:10.