PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - EC225 crash near Bergen, Norway April 2016
Old 9th May 2016, 03:04
  #589 (permalink)  
Twist & Shout
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: OZ
Posts: 281
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Same, wouldn't think twice about it.

Over 4,000,000 flight hours? I think the odds of getting struck by lightning are 700,000 to 1.
I don't think there are many EC225 pilots that have seen the rotor system "first solo" video and wouldn't think about it during their next EC225 flight. Like me, most would strap one on tomorrow if that was the situation, but think about it I would.

There are two components to risk, plus the emotional aspect.

1. Likelihood. (In your lightening statistics, it probably includes those that play golf during thunderstorms. Unlike the tragic accident being discussed where nothing the pilot can do will change their odds, or the outcome.) Without a cause being identified, it's like playing Russian Roulette with thousands of chambers, but an unknown number of bullets. Like most on PPRuNe, I have no idea what went wrong in this case. Is it impossible that it's discovered that every EC225/L2 gearbox will fail under certain life/environment conditions? (Less than the currently mandated replacement schedule. Perhaps a part that currently isn't "lifed", and is reused during overhaul. Just saying it's not impossible, with our current knowledge.)

2. Outcome. Some people are struck by lightning and suffer few consequences.

3. Emotional. Even though I'm more likely to be killed driving to work, no motor vehicle crash offers 10+ seconds of terror, with certain death the outcome.

Given an option, I'd personally prefer to fly a machine type, that didn't have a proven history of unexplained catastrophic failures.
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