Grainger: In case you weren't aware that the DOT report is based on fact, let's go over it again shall we: (bold is fact)
Fact 1: 440 Nm leg, 120kts G/S, where and what were they doing still over the sea 4 hours later? Fact is, they could not have stuck to their itinerary or they would have landed 40 miles earlier.
Fact 2: The engine stopped at 500'. They Did NOT turn into wind until 20'!!!
Fact 3: The co-pilot climbed out of an a/c in auto and jumped from the skids!!!!!!! He took with him, loose items of survival gear which subsequently snagged on the skid denying him the use of such equipment later on!!! What if the gear had gone up into the rotor? What if the co-pilot had 'snagged' on the skids and gone down with the a/c?
Fact 4: Their survival suits were not being worn properly
Fact 5: Refusal to co-operate with the investigating team
The only professional thing they did throughout this entire trip, was give frequent position reports along the leg, which undeniably saved their miserable lives.
If anyone with any ounce of professionalism and from any walk of life, read this for what it really is, they could only come to the sound conclusion that this was a cacophany of cock ups by two gung - ho, misguided, and most definately unprofessional individuals.
I saw a documentary several weeks ago about another nutter who wanted to cross the bering strait in one of his home made contraptions (ski basher with floats on). I believe "Q" was the support helo during this operation. I watched this guy throw this piddling R44 around PERMANENTLY inside the avoid curve just above freezing seas like it didn't affect him..he was a helo hero and things like that don't affect gods. Maybe that's why he grows his hair so long
I don't know
People are getting the wrong messages sometimes. The bottom line here is that this was an adventure, the attraction of which was too strong to allow technicalities and safety to get in the way. So to hell with load sheets, insurance, correctly utilised survival equipment,
let's just go man and jack up the volume....... hee hah!!!
C'mon, these people are giving the industry a bad name, they certainly aren't doing it for aviation - it's an ego trip FULL STOP
And Grainger...you should know better.