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Old 22nd Mar 2013, 17:23
  #41 (permalink)  
ShyTorque

Avoid imitations
 
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The point I am pressing is that without experience in managing whiteout conditions and the incidence of whiteout, no amount of "other" preparation would have protected these crews - a point S76 seems to have clearly understood.
The point I was making was that "the best crew in the world" would not, or should not, have allowed themselves to even attempt a landing in rotor wash generated whiteout conditions, as was almost certainly the case here, and the likelihood of encountering those conditions in the first place should have been brought up at the planning stage. As I wrote, it's basic stuff for any pilot who has operated in snow before, or even been properly briefed.

The trick about whiteout caused by blowing snow is not to get in the situation in the first place. It's basic stuff to know when this is likely and has been very well documented for many years. Even planning to land three helicopters in close proximity in conditions like that was far from sensible.

Using terms like "doomed" makes Joe Public think that helicopters are intrinsically unsafe and it reflects badly on the industry in general.
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