I have heard of folks walking into tail rotors, main rotors, of aircraft sitting on moving decks cleaving folks in pieces when the rotors dipped while the SAS was left on, people walking into the upslope rotor from both directions, have even heard of people getting whacked when the aircraft made a sudden turn whilst setting on the deck.....but folks....this is the very first time I have ever heard of chopper living up to its name in forward flight. 35 years in this business and two tours in Vietnam where the rulebook did not exist.....and this is a first to me.
You guys can fight with one another about whether he was a good pilot, bad pilot, whether the guy that got killed should have been there and so forth until the cows come home.
The inescapable fact is a human being got mown down by that Bell 412's main rotor blade while the aircraft was in forward controlled flight.
Speaking for myself....and one who in the past has been guilty of enjoying low flight as much as anyone...for this to have happened...is inexcusable to me.
There is a joke that comes to mind.....What is the most famous last words of a Redneck? "HEY YA'LL ! WATCH THIS !"
This is not a joke....a man died...it was avoidable...there is no excuse...there is only one man responsible....the pilot in command. Whether it is criminal, holds civil liability, or enforcement action is taken by the FAA......the pilot in command will have to live with that for the rest of his life. He killed an innocent person by his style of airmanship.
As I said in my first post to this thread....when all the dust settles...we will see what the courts and the FAA finally decides....and I dare say in this day and time....that nameless pilot will wish he had done anything else but what he did. It is one thing to show your butt....it is another to do it in public.