Shy,
I was simply asking you a question which you have assumed was directed at this incident.
I am guessing that your thoughts as to the cause of the accident are not weather related?
So it was a random question that you just coincidentally posted on this thread? I see.
At this stage I don't know the cause of the accident. I have my own thoughts and could
speculate in public as well as any one else here, especially as I'm in exactly the same line of business as these unfortunate pilots. I spoke to Carl and Lee briefly in the vicinity of this exact airframe just a few days before the accident. I had no direct affiliation to either, by the way, except as professional acquaintances.
But I won't speculate here. I certainly don't like to see others thoughtlessly slagging off deceased pilots, especially even before an interim report is published.
There is absolutely no doubt that the press commonly use this forum for their own ends. I declined a direct request to make contact with a member of the BBC media about this accident shortly after it occurred.
Regarding my own theory, we don't know exactly what visibility the crew found themselves faced with. Fog is notorious for forming in random patches and layers, especially at night. It's quite possible the area they took off from was in reasonable visibility at ground level, but with fog not far above.
There are other reasons why a helicopter might hit the ground shortly after takeoff, even a fully IFR equipped one.
Posting inflammatory expressions about "breaking every rule in the book" etc is highly distasteful, especially as it appears that the bereaved widow of one of the pilots has already made contact here. I know from experience that even dedicated rule followers (and this thread obviously has more than a few self righteous ones) sometimes get caught out and pay the ultimate price.
Discussion of the landing approach capability of this individual airframe seems very strange to me, as the accident occurred during the takeoff phase.
High Spirits,
We are already one of the most highly regulated professions in the world. Let's not go begging for more of it. If you look back at the recent RW accidents which have been discussed in great depth on this forum, I'd make the observation that following the existing regulations, coupled with common sense, might have made all the difference in a high proportion of them.
How you think that publishing details of private landing sites in some book or other would make any difference to safety on takeoff is beyond me. These pilots were the aircraft owner's personal pilots. They would have been aware of the details of the landing site because it was their regular one, the owner's house.
To say that I seem to care more about the industry than aircrew lives is highly offensive. My neck has been directly on the chopping block in aviation for over three and a half decades. During that time I've lost count of the friends and colleagues who have perished in aviation accidents. It's certainly more than two dozen. I've had direct dealings with the dependents of some of them and certainly attended far too many funerals for my liking. My personal priority is to keep my own backside perfectly intact. By doing so, those in the airborne armchairs behind me will stay safe, too.