Nothing like some good o'l 47 pic's, Brings back memories.
After reading the last two posts by tet and bellfest I am compelled to appologise for placing the post about this accident in the first instance. Reports of the pilot being unlicenced made my blood boil and I threw it out there in the hope that it couldn't be true. I am not directly involved in the mustering industry any more, but I spent a good decade and a half as a mustering pilot, even considered myself as a profesional in my field and it makes me sick to see something like this happen.. Mud sticks and it will be lumped into the mustering ( accident basket ) no matter how far removed from the norm it may have been.
You only have to see how these cowboy's treat their landcruisers in the stock camps to know that a lot of them should be kept as far away from a helicopter as you can. Mustering used to be conducted profesionaly by large company's who had good check and training, and mentoring programes, which enabled pilots to be trained in a profeesional manner not only to be competent musterers but good aviators as well.