Woman killed by chopper blades

[Lynx206]

From the ABC website...
A 31-year-old woman is dead after being struck by helicopter rotor blades this afternoon at a station near Larrimah, about 150 kilometres south of Katherine.
The woman was taken to Mataranka for treatment, and an Royal Australian Air Force helicopter with medical staff was sent from Katherine to help, but the woman died about 5:30pm.
An investigation team is looking into the cause of her death.

[before landing check list]

I never did fully appreciate helicopters being called "choppers"...

[Perro Rojo]

My thoughts exactly!!!

A chopper is a large "chopped" motorcycle, usually a Harley Davidson (see Orange County Choppers),

and "Heli" is a close second.

[Lynx206]

I am sure there are more important things to worry about in this instance than the wording used by the media. Having flown "helicopters" for a few years I for one am not going to lose any sleep over terminology.

For the pedants:

From the OED - chopper • noun 1 Brit. a short axe with a large blade. 2 (choppers) informal teeth. 3 informal a helicopter. 4 informal a type of motorcycle with high handlebars. 5 vulgar slang a man’s penis.

For the rest of us this incident is a timely reminder of the need to ensure safe movement of people around the spinning bits.

[before landing check list]

I never did fully appreciate helicopters being called "choppers"... until now.
It was a poor attempt at humor. I am sorry you did not get it. However that is alright. You are correct about the safety aspect though.
Jerry

[topendtorque]

sleep


That will be scarce item in some quarters, back to the kitchen for a hot chocolate with a dash of maple syrup i think. some days aviation is just plain bad eh?

[before landing check list]

Yep ref the bad flying days. Hot chocolate with maple syrup? I'll have to try that.

[cressidom]

Quote:
chopper • noun 1 Brit. a short axe with a large blade. 2 (choppers) informal teeth. 3 informal a helicopter. 4 informal a type of motorcycle with high handlebars. 5 vulgar slang a man’s penis.
A vulgar slang ? Hmm Really ? I never knew it was called that too ?:eek:
All the same tragic incident.It should never have happened. We had one of our N2 in a blade incident too.
cheers
Dom

[Ema_CTA]

I'm a student heli pilot...with poor hours on R22...I like to fly helicopters.. but this event is very sad...

I know very well the people who died in this accident..she lives about 5 km from my home...

God bless herself...

Emanuele:sad:

[HowlingWind]

The Herald Sun story (http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22130833-662,00.html)has a few more details.

AN Italian woman has died after being struck by the rotor of a helicopter on an outback station in the Northern Territory.

The woman, 31, an Italian national, was hit on the back of the head by the main rotor of a two-seater Robinson helicopter as it took off from the station near Larrimah, 500km southeast of Darwin, about 3pm (CST) yesterday, police said.

Station residents called for assistance and began driving the injured woman to Mataranka.

They were met by an ambulance on the way.

The woman was treated at a clinic in Mataranka but died before an RAAF medical crew arrived by helicopter from Katherine, 100km away.

Police from Katherine and Mataranka are investigating with assistance from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The pilot, a 35-year-old man, has been offered counselling.

I'm sorry for your loss, Emanuele. An unfortunate and tragic event.

[pumaboy]

What the bloody hell does it matter if we call it a chopper or helicopter the fact of the matter is a women has died after coming in to contact with rotor blades of a helicopter.

Could we the professional have some sympothy for her family in this timely matter.

RIP

[SADDLER]

Have to agree pumaboy, some people are just like kids.

[mustering guru]

Hey guys any idea who the pilot was and who owned the machine?

[FH1100 Pilot]

The woman, 31, an Italian national, was hit on the back of the head by the main rotor of a two-seater Robinson helicopter as it took off from the station near Larrimah, 500km southeast of Darwin, about 3pm (CST) yesterday, police said.The wording of this is more than slightly curious. I am trying to imagine a scenario in which the main rotor blades of a helicopter in the process of a normal take-off could strike a person on the ground. I guess I'll have to think on that for a while...or at least until more information becomes available.

[FairWeatherFlyer]

The only occurrence i know of:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20020806X01314&ntsbno=CHI02LA232&akey=1
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=156052

[Helinut]

FWF,

Sadly there are many more than that. Some of them have associated stories that are heart-breaking. The majority are also so sad, because they are so avoidable.

[Barshifter]

Heres another That I know of in the UK.Non fatal this one.

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources/dft_avsafety_pdf_502086.pdf

[autorotator]

The helicopter could have been sitting next to an upslope which the woman was exiting or entering the helicopter unsupervised or poorly briefed. "Make eye contact with the pilot before entering the helicopter."

That is the only thing I could imagine unless she was VERY tall.

Sorry to hear about this tragic accident.