PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AW139 G-LBAL helicopter crash in Gillingham, Norfolk
Old 20th Oct 2015, 20:05
  #776 (permalink)  
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I think the helicopter I/R is fit for its basic purpose, which is to fly from anyplace with an official IFR departure procedure to any other place with an official IFR arrival procedure. The problem is depending on your point of view
but it is just a FW IR profile flown in a helicopter rather than something that reflects the realities of RW IFR.

We still have the same limits for NDB tracking as VOR despite the former (in all helis I have flown) being something of an area weapon.

How many RW pilots regularly conduct NDB or VOR holds (on the job, not for training).

The ability to get from place to place using radio aids is still just about valid but GPS will be the weapon of choice for corporate pilots I expect, with the radio aids being there for back up.

If we ignore the realities of the onshore corporate world and pretend everyone is an offshore IF God the we will keep seeing accidents like this.

Like so many accidents, this one had a number of causal factors, some of which you just can't legislate for (bad decision making or poor CRM due to previous cockpit gradient) but the mechanics of the takeoff could have been taught and tested early in both pilots careers.
crab@SAAvn.co.uk is offline