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View Full Version : MD 600 down near Jena, Germany


franktion
29th Dec 2010, 17:03
In the eastern region of Germany a MD 600 crashed on Thursday 28th of December. The Copter was chartered by a local grocery store and supposed to wipe snow of the store's roof with it's downwash. Witnesses report a loud noise only seconds after takeoff and smoke coming out of the turbine. The chopper fell down from approximately 30m. Pilot and Co suffer from major injuries, an employe of the store suffers only minor injuries.

Winterchaos nimmt kein Ende: Klirrkälte und Neuschnee in Deutschland - News - Bild.de (http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/2010/12/28/winter-wetter-deutschland-usa/unfaelle-staus-neuschnee-liveticker.html)

http://www.dtoday.de/cms_media/module_img/68/34019_1_lightbox_Helicopter_isserstedt.JPG

Keine neuen Erkenntnisse zu Hubschrauber-Absturz | Thringen | Dnews.de | Nachrichten auf einen Blick (http://www.dnews.de/nachrichten/thuringen/400035/keine-neuen-erkenntnisse-hubschrauber-absturz.html)

ShyTorque
29th Dec 2010, 17:30
"You shop, we drop" isn't supposed to mean that......

Hope the injured folks recover fully and speedily.

Shawn Coyle
29th Dec 2010, 21:06
Hope they had the snow deflectors on, and had made sure the roof was clear of snow before liftoff..

mfriskel
29th Dec 2010, 22:22
No snow deflector on the 600. Long fairing forward of the rotor mast and the air inlet is on top and sides of the fairing, aft of the main rotor head.

mickjoebill
29th Dec 2010, 22:43
The Copter was chartered by a local grocery store and supposed to wipe snow of the store's roof with it's downwash.



How effective is the aerial snowplough technique? Presumably used to remove loose snow that could fall and hit shoppers?




Mickjoebill

molen
30th Dec 2010, 16:07
The helicopter involved is D-HHWR RN055 operated by Sky Heli

Many buildings with a flat roof are not constructed to bear a lot of snow.

With heavy snowfall they tend to collapse.

Building regulations are not complied with.

Solar
31st Dec 2010, 02:04
How do they go about this? Do they approach carefully from the side or drop vertically slowly from above. Would either technique not result in additional pressure on the roof.
Whats wrong with a couple of lightweights with shovels?

Hughes500
31st Dec 2010, 07:19
sounds more like a publicity stunt thst went wrong !

lelebebbel
31st Dec 2010, 07:27
Whats wrong with a couple of lightweights with shovels?

Generally not a good idea to climb on a roof that's already creaking under a big load of snow, no matter how light you are.

Yellow & Blue Baron
1st Jan 2011, 06:52
Generally not a good idea to climb on a roof that's already creaking under a big load of snow, no matter how light you are.


How about a cherry picker then?

Clearing snow off a shop roof in what is presumably a built-up area using a single engine helicopter - something doesn't seem right about this arrangement!

YBB

Runway101
1st Jan 2011, 08:20
Seems to be quite common in Germany, see video below:

Schneeräumen à la Amerika: Mit dem Hubschrauber - zoom.in - Video - sevenload (http://de.sevenload.com/sendungen/zoom-in/folgen/9asdJW5-Schneeraeumen-a-la-Amerika-Mit-dem-Hubschrauber)

(text says you would expect something like this in America, but it's in Zwickau/Germany)

Hughes500
1st Jan 2011, 08:38
Unless it is very fine powder snow cant see a heli being that effective

Earl of Rochester
1st Jan 2011, 08:47
Unless it is very fine powder snow cant see a heli being that effective.


My thoughts exactly.

ShyTorque
1st Jan 2011, 08:52
This would be classed as illegal low flying in UK.

Nubian
1st Jan 2011, 09:55
Shy,

This would be classed as illegal low flying in UK.
Hardly a surprise...
Now, what isn't illegal in the UK then? :E

Happy New year, and safe flying!

ShyTorque
1st Jan 2011, 10:30
Folks do like to criticise the UK flying rules and regs and some try to use them as a way of jibing at those who must work under them.

For the record, I'm also highly frustrated by them at times. Not least the cost and time factor in getting exemptions or for permissions to carry out a particular flying task. Especially as I was brought up on the far less restrictive military low flying rules.

But it would be difficult to disagree that this accident gives credence to the UK's "500 foot rule".

An aircraft destroyed and three people injured. Looking at the photos, all of them are very lucky not to have been killed.

EN48
1st Jan 2011, 13:26
Clearing snow off a shop roof in what is presumably a built-up area using a single engine helicopter



So ... perhaps a multiengine helicopter would do a better job? :E

Hell Man
1st Jan 2011, 13:43
The merits of heli-snow-blowing aside, does anyone know the flight profile ie. what happened that resulted in the bird sitting broken on the road?

PPRuNe-dudes must have seen this a hundred times but, for those who haven't and seeing as we're on 600's - the classic 'hard landing' by a US Border Patrol ship:

4lMTZQRfYo4

HM

JimL
1st Jan 2011, 14:19
Not only the UK 500ft rule but the ICAO 500ft SARP - I'm not sure that any State files a difference.

However, this is Aerial Work which might be permitted in any State if a risk assessment had been carried out.

To state the blindingly obvious, a risk assessment would have this as a 'reasonably probable' outcome on the basis that most engines have a likelihood of failure of 1:100,000 flight hours. It might also be difficult to justify deliberately being in the HV curve with more than one occupant?

No, a twin would be twice as dangerous with a probability of failure of 2:100,000 and a similar outcome (unless it had OEI HOGE).

Jim

Runway101
1st Jan 2011, 23:51
In Switzerland it's not uncommon to blow the snow out of trees with Helicopters (http://www.baselland.ch/Newsdetail-Polizeimeldungen.309173+M5ff78fe01c1.0.html), to avoid fallen trees blocking roads or somebody getting hit by a tree. A friend of mine was almost hit in her car by a falling tree in 2008. The car behind her drove right into it.

http://www.baselland.ch/uploads/pics/880_3.jpg