But I actually meant it with respect to the V-22. We find it used in the following report, when talking about A-VRS.
Dispelling the Myth of the MV-22
If this turns out to be a genuine case of "roll off," then I wonder why the pilot didn't simply beep the nacelles forward and fly out of it? That is the "so easy a child could do it" response to a roll-off, no?
I note that you inserted a term (in quotes) not used by the LTC who wrote the report you cited. Why am I not surprised?
I am not sure how much time in your life you have spent investigating aircraft mishaps. I had to do a few. One of the things you learn in so doing is something I'll call a decision cycle. When something goes wrong while flying, you have a finite time to (while flying the aircraft)
- identify that something is wrong
- indentify which something is wrong
- apply a remedy or correction
if simple correction is insufficient due to malfunction or failure ...
- proceed with the correct EP / Malfunction procedures, memory items and maneuvers, without delay and in the right order.
Diagnosis is a critical difference between living through some "something's wrong" events and not.
While the point the LTC made about moving nacelles to 12-15 degress to escape VRS is a simplified summary, what goes into that is first recognition and diagnosis of what is wrong and what is to be done.
Depending upon how close to the ground and what you are doing, if something like VRS or roll off surprises you, your decision cycle is significantly compressed. In the AF mishap recently in Florida, my estimate is that if what happened was in the roll off category, the pilot flying was surprised, which influenced his corrective process.
In your own case, FH, when flying your helicopter, your ability to quickly and correctly diagnose the difference between a loss of power or a loss of tail rotor control is critical to your taking the correct actions to get back down to earth in one piece. If you are at fifty feet, or at a thousand feet, your decision cycle will contract or expand.