I think most people are in denial about the levels of training that the collective ‘we’ enjoy!
I’ve had my share of ‘emergencies’ With the last adventure being a power rollback to idle (low side Gov) a couple of years ago in a heavy helicopter just as about to drop water in a tight valley and nowhere to go but up. The engine didn’t shut down but nor did it come back. When I listened to the CVR; I wondered who the two guys were, because it didn’t sound like me and my partner in crime.
Not one of my emergencies ever went according to the book, training or planning. But more on a slender touch of those things; and a large dose of divine providence.
It all happens so quickly that regardless of how well trained you might think you are? If you can’t train much more than operators currently allow?
You fall into the basket with the rest of us. Consistently lacking in ‘emergency training’ currency.
But I’m sure the accident pilot had his measure of training as per current regulations and I have no axe to grind there!
I’m neither an ace nor a sandbag. Just a consistent working pilot who has operated often in difficult conditions in many places around the world; and having flown multi crew with many nationalities, each with different basic training standards and cultural affect. These issues make little difference in the long game, Yank, Brit or Iranian. If we sat there poised waiting for the emergency we’d all need a shrink on a twice monthly basis from the stress alone?
We all try to prepare for when something bad happens, but we can’t maintain the effort for very long out of a 14 hour duty day and 8-10 hours flying.
What’s an insane/dangerous operation in the view of a charter pilot used to flying from an airfield to a big private house in the country; is daily bread and butter for a guy working a 205 or a B3 in Canada or wherever. Crap weather for me in a 212 slinging drills, is nothing for a guy in Port Harcourt during a strong Harmattan.
Look at the comments re: the guy slinging xmas trees with a 206 recently. My feeling when I saw it was of a a high time guy with good hands and feet.
I Just thought he was doing a great job considering it was a 206… I used to do it with a 500 and a Lama back in the day and declined to do it in a 206! Because I’m always scared of mast bumping when I get carried away, and you do get carried away, its great fun and one of the reasons we do it! It only seats one when slinging and it’s a fun job. Others took a more critical view.
No one’s objectively right or wrong! And many are swayed by the nanny states in which many people have been raised and then thrive in, perpetually rambling on about ultimate safety in helicopters. It’s always a brownie point if you call safety, even when talking out your ass!
Based on $$$ - not common sense, the industry thinks a trip to a sim or a line check or OPC every six months makes you current on emergencies…Bull****! We need to practice far more frequently than that but the game isn’t played that way unfortunately. We all live in a state of denial when it comes to our capabilities. If you don’t believe me, ask for a shaft failure with sound effects at TDP+5 + 5 next time you’re in the sim and see what happens. 9 out of 10 times you’ll screw up the first one or two; the big problem being that in real life there’s no do-overs!
I have no idea what happened in Glasgow and can’t begin to speculate. But at night low level in a turn! Anyone who could get away with an unexpected double flame out as an example, has more than most of us can muster…Sometimes an accident is just an accident and there’s nothing to say that the pilot was playing the game in any other way than the way he’d been trained and had approval for.
The drift into auto technique is shameful to read. How a bunch of people claiming to be seasoned pilots can think there’s a ‘one cure fits all’ - is one of the reasons I avoid whenever possible riding in the back of a helicopter.
I think that Proon should open a ‘closed posting’ section where you have to prove you’re actually an experienced helicopter pilot before you can post, as I’m sure some of the posters are imposters or inflating their experience beyond all reason. Many comments make no sense coming from seasoned pilots.
TC . I generally disagree with you as a principle of life, but I support you 100% in your comments here.
A note for any family or friends reading this forum.
I offer my sincere condolences and I’m very sorry for your loss! I didn’t know David and can’t think of a single thing to say that would ease your suffering. But he was in a bad situation and he did the best he could, maybe the best anyone could? …Sometimes the deck is stacked against you.
RIP David!