Heli crash at Imintje

[Lasiorhinus]

Heard on ABC news of a helicopter with 4 on board crashed this morning at Imintje in the Kimberley.

Hope there are no serious injuries, and that all involved make a speedy recovery.

[DH 200']

Four people have been injured in a helicopter crash in Western Australia's far northern Kimberley region.

Police say no-one was killed but the pilot was seriously injured when the helicopter came down about 240km north-east of Derby, near the Imintji Aboriginal Community, just after 11am WST (1pm AEST).
Details of the pilot's injuries are not yet known, although a Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) spokeswoman said three people who were aboard the aircraft are believed to have spinal injuries.
The fourth person has cuts and bruises.
Police said a St John's Ambulance, which had been in the area for the Gibb River Road Mountain Bike Challenge, was on site to treat the injured.
A doctor and a nurse from the RFDS were being flown to the area.
The helicopter is believed to be a Robinson R44 owned by Broome Helicopter Services, which operates tourist, commercial and other flights.
The company could not immediately be contacted for comment.
The area around the Imintji community is popular with tourist flights because of its gorges and rugged scenery.
Police later said members of the Imintji community had first raised the alarm and the St John's ambulance, with a doctor on board, had driven 190km to help.
Two helicopters were expected on the scene shortly after 3pm (WST) and the injured were to be taken to Derby Hospital.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it is currently gathering information on the crash.

Good to hear all involved in the crash are alive.

[FRQ Charlie Bravo]

What's the latest? I heard that the pax were not tourists but people who worked out there. A witness has apparently said it was hovering to take some shots of the local store and then spun quickly three times before impacting the ground (so possibly tail-rotor striking a tree?). Other than that I haven't heard much else... like the state of the pilot and pax.

FRQ CB

[Jabawocky]

Yikes!

I am not a wobbly wing flyer so I am not able to describe the word perfect event, however is there a critical hover height and speed that if you get caught in it the sinking air from the rotor wash reflected of the ground comes over the top of the blades.....like your own little wind rotor and down ya go?

Would be hard to recover from.....:uhoh:

J

[RadioSaigon]

however is there a critical hover height and speed...

No more am I a fling-wing driver, but I believe the area in their performance envelope to which you refer is that known colloquially as the "Dead-Man's Curve". For a definition of same you will have to refer the query to someone that knows rotary wing PofF... or refer here (http://cybercom.net/%7Ecopters/pilot/hvcurve.html) or here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height-velocity_diagram) for the Internet story thus far -nothing flash, just the 1st couple of links thrown up by a Google search.