B412 crash in Mexico City (2 Killed

[VEMD]

Somebody knows something about it???

[BlenderPilot]

It was a 412HP that belonged to the Mexican Department of Comunications and Transport, they were doing a RADS flight over southern Mexico City, here comes the odd part, 5 adults and 2 children(pilots children), girl and boy less than 10 y.o. Both pilots and the mechanic dead, everyone else badly hurt, helicopter was complety destroyed, I have no idea what happened.

I flew this aircraft for almost 6 years, you can see many pictures of it in the Rotorheads at Work Thread as XC-SCT2, it was so well kept up that you could eat of the rotor head, had beautiful avionics, HUMS, changable VIP and utility interiors, it took me to all of Mexico and Central America, and is responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of people during hurricane Mitch in Honduras.

A real tragedy,

[Flying Lawyer]

Such a relief to read your post BP.
When I saw it was a 412, I was concerned it was you.


Still a tragedy for all those concerned.

[Flying Lawyer]

A contact in Mexico sent me these pictures.
Seems incredible that anyone survived the impact.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/B412_1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/B412_2.jpg




Sadly, one of the injured children has since died.

[BlenderPilot]

Same helicopter,

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/heliguardian.jpg

http://homepage.mac.com/helipilot/PPRuNe/NadandoSCT.jpg

[Flying Lawyer]

I hope nobody thinks I'm being ghoulish by posting these pictures. It just occurred to me that possibly all pilots, and certainly low hours PPLs like me, need the occasional harsh reminder of what can happen if things go wrong - regardless of cause - when we're enjoying the love of flying which unites us all, whether pro or amateur.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/Body2SCT.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/BodySCT.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/CockpitSCT.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/MRBeamGripSCT.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/SCTBoom.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/FlyingLawyer/SCTMR.jpg

[SASless]

FL,

It is right and fitting you post those photographs. Reminds us of the controlled risks we accept when we go flying. The goal is to prevent these occurrences as much as we can.

A quick look at the photographs left some interesting observations....having seen lots of these things in the flesh....little things sometimes stand out.

The first thing that caught my eye....was the skids are reasonably intact....crushed a bit...but not horribly....and the roof forward of the mast is pretty well tore up. Gives some thought as to how the aircraft struck the ground and what could have caused that.

The second thing...was the high collective position. I have seen some collectives bent upwards from the amount of force applied by pilots during crashes....sometimes to the point you could tell who was flying at the time of impact. One collective being much higher than the other.

I am not trying to suggest any causes.....just observing what is there.

Condolences to the families that have lost loved ones....hope the injured have a speedy and complete recovery.

[Vfrpilotpb]

FL,

You are correct it is a timely and good reminder to all, I feel the PPL element of this forum will see such pictures as a very good reminder of what things can get to in but a few seconds.

My heart and thoughts are with all those who perished, but more so to the children and the surving parent(s)

PeterR-B
Vfr

[BlenderPilot]

Still no solid leads as to what caused the incident, so far everyone has a different theory,

One predominant theory is the loss of the Main Driveshaft, which at low altitude could prove very surprising, although this pilot had gotten plenty of training autos to the ground in 212 and 412, and FSI sim training, another good reason to do it.