topendtorque
22nd Jul 2010, 13:03
Here you go, always be careful of your lunch wrapping.
TET
Chopper crash survivor tells his tale
By Lorna Perry
Thursday, 22/07/2010
Chopper pilot Ben Williams is lucky to be alive after his lunch leftovers caused his chopper to crash land.
His helicopter crashed last month while he was mustering cattle at Nenen Station on the Sturt Plateau in the Northern Territory.
The cause has since been identified: the culprit, plastic wrapping from his lunch.
With it being national farm safety week, there's nothing like a helicopter crash to serve as a timely reminder of how important it is to be safe.
Ben says a bit of rubbish floated out of the cabin and covered the helicopter's air intake.
"It didn't obviously cover the whole of the air intake straight away because it wasn't until about half an hour later that I've lost power so the rubbish has obviously moved in that time and completely covered the air intake"
He explains he didn't realise what was going on when he started to lose power.
"It was quite a windy day so I've turned the machine into the wind to try and help with the lift and then the low RPM horns came on.
"So I tried my best to go into emergency procedures and then next thing, just going through the trees and then I was on the ground basically."
Fortunately for Ben, the helicopter landed on the passenger side down.
"I was in the air, in the driver's seat.
"I wanted to get out of that helicopter, there was a bit of fuel starting to drip around me and I thought it'll be like a hollywood movie scene where the machine catches on fire.
"But fortunately that didn't turn out.
"I couldn't undo my seatbelt because all my weight was leaning on the buckle and I didn't have the strength so I've cut the seatbelt and then fallen to the passenger side and then I've crawled out the front of the helicopter because the perspex bubble was all gone and that was my only way out of the helicopter."
Ben Williams says he couldn't feel any pain initially.
"I wasn't really feeling any pain at that stage just a weakness throughout the body.
"Once I was on the ground I was thinking well that's the worst of it over, I'm alive, and I knew I'd done something to my back but I still had feelings and movement in my feet and arms and everything so I wasn't too concerned about that, hopefully doctors can fix all my issues up."
His boss, Clinton Brisk, found him fifteen minutes later and it wasn't long before he was in Katherine hospital in a serious but stable condition.
He's expected to make an almost full recovery and can't wait to get back in the seat flying again.
"I'll hop in as soon as possible.
"It's just a bit of a reminder I suppose not to let complacency creep into my flying, things like leaving rubbish on the floor of the helicopter not tied down or held down, that type of thing."
In this report: Ben Williams, chopper pilot, Rockhampton
TET
Chopper crash survivor tells his tale
By Lorna Perry
Thursday, 22/07/2010
Chopper pilot Ben Williams is lucky to be alive after his lunch leftovers caused his chopper to crash land.
His helicopter crashed last month while he was mustering cattle at Nenen Station on the Sturt Plateau in the Northern Territory.
The cause has since been identified: the culprit, plastic wrapping from his lunch.
With it being national farm safety week, there's nothing like a helicopter crash to serve as a timely reminder of how important it is to be safe.
Ben says a bit of rubbish floated out of the cabin and covered the helicopter's air intake.
"It didn't obviously cover the whole of the air intake straight away because it wasn't until about half an hour later that I've lost power so the rubbish has obviously moved in that time and completely covered the air intake"
He explains he didn't realise what was going on when he started to lose power.
"It was quite a windy day so I've turned the machine into the wind to try and help with the lift and then the low RPM horns came on.
"So I tried my best to go into emergency procedures and then next thing, just going through the trees and then I was on the ground basically."
Fortunately for Ben, the helicopter landed on the passenger side down.
"I was in the air, in the driver's seat.
"I wanted to get out of that helicopter, there was a bit of fuel starting to drip around me and I thought it'll be like a hollywood movie scene where the machine catches on fire.
"But fortunately that didn't turn out.
"I couldn't undo my seatbelt because all my weight was leaning on the buckle and I didn't have the strength so I've cut the seatbelt and then fallen to the passenger side and then I've crawled out the front of the helicopter because the perspex bubble was all gone and that was my only way out of the helicopter."
Ben Williams says he couldn't feel any pain initially.
"I wasn't really feeling any pain at that stage just a weakness throughout the body.
"Once I was on the ground I was thinking well that's the worst of it over, I'm alive, and I knew I'd done something to my back but I still had feelings and movement in my feet and arms and everything so I wasn't too concerned about that, hopefully doctors can fix all my issues up."
His boss, Clinton Brisk, found him fifteen minutes later and it wasn't long before he was in Katherine hospital in a serious but stable condition.
He's expected to make an almost full recovery and can't wait to get back in the seat flying again.
"I'll hop in as soon as possible.
"It's just a bit of a reminder I suppose not to let complacency creep into my flying, things like leaving rubbish on the floor of the helicopter not tied down or held down, that type of thing."
In this report: Ben Williams, chopper pilot, Rockhampton