PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Bride Killed in Helicopter Crash
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Old 11th Jul 2017, 13:07
  #129 (permalink)  
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Join Date: Apr 2000
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Obviously a very talented pilot.
No, a lucky pilot whose luck ran out.

Human physiology means you need a reference to the horizon in order to orientate yourself - otherwise you are at the mercy of conflicting signals from the proprioceptive sensors (muscles, nerves etc - seat of the pants) and your semi-circular canals in the inner ears. no-one has a built in gyro but some are more prone to disorientation than others.

You might manage to stay straight and level for a short while in IMC without an AI (in an unstabilised helicopter) but any disturbance will eventually degrade your perception of the world and your position in space - then you will make bigger control inputs, usually in opposite directions, as your brain tries to establish a feedback loop. I believe that is what happened in the crash video where he goes from nose-down to nose-up, generating G, losing airspeed and eventually losing control totally.
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