Originally Posted by
noflynomore
I don't think we know what conditions the "poor bugger" aka stupid arse launched into so that may have been true in earlier stages of the flight but from what we saw on the video I don't think there was any VMC below. Edit... Thanks BR, I see now from the longer vid that launch was happy and in good conditions but the agitation of the pax is very high indeed as the clag develps. I reckon he was not much above treetop height all the way with just the barest of glimpses of the ground very close below. There was barely any delay between the horn and the first impact - and no clear air seen at all.
Look too at the body language of the two in the back. They are both highly agitated and peering intently steeply downwards, the fella then looks intently forwards too as though looking for something to see but both are clearly very uncomfortable. The helo makes a turn (rotor clatter increases) and he flattens himself ahainst the bulkhead looking downright scared, this is clearly a white-knuckle ride. The photog pulls a big round-eye look before smiling a bit unconvincingly too.
On full screen at slow speed (first video) from 1:35 the fella in the back flattens against the bulkhead - something has scared him again - the camera swings onto the panel showing a very steep turn right (45' bank or so) with a lot of nose down, pilot rolls level but ignores the pitch which wavers and gets to maybe 15, 20' nose down before he snatches a recovery which rapidly develops into a 60'left climbing turn, then nothing but blue on the AI, horn, pilot falls forward, (probably inverted by then) impact.
That video should be shown to every helo student to illustrate why you don't fly unauthorised IMC. Gruesome stuff.
Holy
On the short video, at 0:40, it looks like 90KN, max. MP, going up at 1000FPM. Then between 0:40 and 1:40 it looks to be a roller coaster ride. When the panel is next visible at 1:40 now it looks like 0KN, 22" MP, VSI +1000FPM?, AH all over the place.
Gruesome stuff, indeed.