Police helicopter crashes onto Glasgow pub

[topendtorque]

There is a fairly good video around which has been on here of a dude losing T/R drive in I think an S58. at low level in the hover whilst slinging. I don't think? he got the chance the roll power off, just down on the collective.

Mostly it seems that T/R failure will happen when it is loaded up, as it is then given the most chance to find something weak.
That was the case for me, just pulling up out of a clearing no A/S, bang, the front short shaft parted company with the T/R drive, the earth starts moving around the front window, on the second go round the earth was starting to blur, at that point I says to myself, self, you gotta chop that throttle and you gotta do it quick good boy.

It didn't stop the rotation, barely slowed it down, but I was able to see enough to steer to the centre of the only avbl spot, just about beneath me. Once again it was a high inertia rotor system (Bell 47 3B1) and lightly loaded, I chopped at about sixty feet straight down on the collective and wait, wait, one pull at the bottom and slightly bent the skids.

I had contemplated lowering the collective and flying away using only the thirty feet between me and the trees, clearly that showed itself quickly as not an option.

I would still contemplate lowering and flying away if I already had some A/S and plenty of height before throttle chop if I could.

Because of that emergency we practice T/R failures in the hover at four foot skid height, and at height, but not below 1500 AGL which becomes self evident after the first one.

In the high ones it seems the only way to get those "other aerodynamic forces" such as weathercock from a high A/S before the rotation becomes uncontrollable is to first chop the throttle. Then because there is now no power, Einstein predicts we must lower the collective and steer toward a nose low attitude, hey presto 60 knots quick time - rotation stops fairly quickly. One can then slowly increase power with collective to fly away to a good spot, no big deal.

It is a good procedure to steady up a hot head if they need steadying, if not an almost aerobatic manoeuvre, as the damn things will roll quite aways before stabilising in descent, so be warned, no loose articles, harness locked and tight.