PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - R44 Down on NSW South Coast Feb 2012
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Old 13th Mar 2012, 05:21
  #19 (permalink)  
Flyting
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: In the mountains
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Soon after lifting off, the pilot's door opened. The helicopter abruptly pitched nose-up and the tailskid struck the ground. The helicopter then abruptly pitched forward and rolled to the right before the main rotor blades struck the ground.
What I find quite remarkable, is that no has yet made mention of the door opening issue... Trying to close the door while in the hover is a basic initial training issue which should never be done as one can see from this fatal accident.
Forget about the fuel tank/lines that burnt the machine out right now. Deal with the cause of the accident so that others can learn from it.
I was taught and have taught that if the door opened, either land or get some height and speed (depending on where you are in the take-off profile) before trying to close it.
Flyting is offline