Well, I didn’t think I’d ever post on this forum again.
Posts like those I’ve addressed below are usually not worth reading. The particularly low, gutter sniping was pointed out to me by some friends who were as disappointed by so called “Professional Pilots” as I am.
The facts as far as I know:
Unexpected loss of power at a rather in-opportune phase of flight.
No one onboard or on the ground hurt.
Machine badly damaged.
Many Pilots have flown from this pad, which is a pad, not a runway.
Have I missed any?
So rather than look at the positives, as even the mainstream press has done, some of you guys, attack a fellow pilot and operation. Perhaps it would be beneficial for some of you to examine the reason you chose this action.
Specifically:
Nigel Osborne
I don't see why he is a "hero" for landing in a clear area as that is where he is supposed to be. I'm quite sure he had no desire to land on a car!
So, you know for a fact that it was cars he was avoiding, not a child that had wandered out to watch the chopper land? (maybe, into the area YOU had, “managed to get some huge pot plants moved from….”)
I'm surprised the machine ended up in such a sorry state but at least it appears the injuries weren't too bad.
Obviously you can tell by the photos, at what phase of flight the power loss occurred, what maneuvering was required and what the local wind was. This, combined with your superior flying skills would have ensured that the machine was in a less “sorry state”. Have I got these facts right?
Heli – Phile
Maybe this will inspire the operators to move the base to suitable location for a SE helicopter or buy an A cat twin!!
Perhaps a Super Puma, from Archerfield aerodrome?
Same !!!!, different day!!!
Yep, some half informed self opinionated ****** passing judgment.
Fact:
If this helicopter was a B426, not a B206 it would have flown its takeoff/landing profile on its remaining engine and flown its crew and passengers away from harm. It also would not have put those on the ground in harms way
The B222, for example, doesn’t have Cat A charts for anything but runway ops.
Do the B426 (none in Australia) Cat A charts have performance graphs for helipad landings? If so, what size of pad and clearances are required? Would the machine be required to “back up” on every departure?
gulliBell
Let's hope for the pilot's sake they find more than 20 minutes worth of fuel in there
Let’s hope for your sake you’re not caught flying drunk or assaulting women. (Just wondering if you enjoy random slurs. Why else would you dish them out? Really, why?)
If the accident helicopter here was a twin, and he still had fuel on board, chances are it wouldn't be rolled up in a ball of scrap metal in the car park.
Chances are it would have, just a more expensive ball of scrap metal.
Don't want people who don't know otherwise to take what was said earlier here as gospel i.e. a twin engine helicopter when required to fly OEI "will take you to the scene of the crash". In the vast majority of cases it will take you to a place where you can land safely without any damage to the aircraft.
I don’t want people who don't know otherwise to take what was said earlier here as gospel i.e. a twin engine helicopter when required to fly OEI, during the takeoff or landing phase, will
ensure that a crash won’t result. In the vast majority of cases it won’t
ensure a safe outcome.
Unless of course they operate at reduced take-off weights under the conditions to get the OEI performance they need (which we need to do even in the S76C+ which has quite a bit of 30 sec OEI grunt).
And the machine has Cat A charts for helipad operations, and the pad is big enough, and the approach and departure paths have the required clearance, and the profile required is suitable (Climbing backwards to 100’ over Dream World, or any scenic for that matter might not be appropriate)
“Buying a twin” is not the instant, easy fix that some of you experts seem to think it would be, without even considering the cost.
topendtorque
…any fixed flight tourist flights that do not have a 100% flight line emergency landing areas and pilots checked out into all of them, should never even start.
That rules out operations from most airports then. 100% is a BIG call, but I suppose it fits in to the “Holier than thou” bandwagon this thread, and many others have become.
As I say, why you guys chose to spout this stuff is your own business, I’m just trying to defend a fellow aviator and balance the views.
Fly safe, because if you have an incident of any kind you might be attacked in public by your peers.
So sad!