EC145 ditching Ushuaia

[RVDT]

EC 145 off "Octopus" gets wet.

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[NRDK]

145? might be 117 shown here perhaps.

Aircraft N245AF, Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh MBB-BK 117 C-2 C/N 9322 (http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N245AF.html)

[FH1100 Pilot]

What Eurocopter calls a "Model 145" is really under the skin (and on the TC) just a modernized model 117 C-2. Kind of/sort of like Hughes did with the 369/500. Kind of.

[spinwing]

Mmmmm .....

..... What Eurocopter calls a "Model 145" is really under the skin (and on the TC) just a modernized model 117 C-2. .....

So? ..... This one is still an EC 145 :rolleyes:

[skadi]

A BK 117 C2 is known as a EC 145!

A, B and C1 are "normal" BK 117.

skadi

[Aser]

Paul Allen's Antarctic crew has helicopter mishap - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/paul-allen-s-antarctic-crew-has-helicopter-mishap.html)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/OctopusYacht.JPG/800px-OctopusYacht.JPG

I wonder why they switched the Explorer for the 145

Regards
Aser

[rotorrookie]

I wonder why they switched the Explorer for the 145

For more range, with the load they had on the MD the range was crap.

[helihub]

He still owns his four Explorers, originally intended as one for each of his four boats.

[Capt.Gonzo]

I wonder why they switched the Explorer for the 145

Because the EC 145 is the much better Helicopter!

[Flying Bull]

Hi,
looks like they towed the bird in the first video
and looks like it had turned over on the second video.
Seems, someone has money to spare :-(
Best thing to do is to fill the inside, i.e. with a dinghy and attach other floating devices on the outside - so it won´t flip over.
Then it´s time to think about, how to get it home and out of the water.

But they aren´t the first ones who screwed up - a navy I know dragged a ditched Lynx, so that ist submerged for ever.....

Greetings Flying Bull

[Kulwin Park]

Is that an Explorer on front of the ship in above picture??

[OvertHawk]

Yes - the photo above shows an Explorer on the Fwd deck ('76 on the back)

[Phoinix]

Yes, clearly.

[mfriskel]

"Because the EC 145 is the much better Helicopter!"

Capt G- we all have our opinions now, don't we?

[hoveratsix]

' A helicopter crew had a slight mishap as it was preparing to pick up Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for a trip to Antarctica'

A 'slight' mishap??:):rolleyes:

[Hedge36]

Well, it's all relative, you see. The flight crew's mishap was "slight" in comparison to the towing crew's "major" mishap in turning the ship turtle in tow.

[hoveratsix]

Good point, Hedge36! It has happened many times before with over-enthusiastic rescuers!!

[OvertHawk]

To be fair... The chances of successfully getting a helicopter out of the water, unless you happen to have a crane and a salvage crew immediately to hand are limited.

It's Hobson's choice - Either try to secure or tow it, in which case you stand a really good chance of turning it over (but keeping it at least), or leave it and wait for specialist help in which case it is likely to sink, or at least turn over, before specialist help is available.

There was a pretty fair swell there - i suspect that it would not have stayed upright or even afloat unaided for very long.

Damned if you do - damned if you don't

[RVDT]

Update from Dow Jones -

"At around 8:10 a.m. this morning [6:10 a.m. EDT] the helicopter took off and apparently hit an antennae on the yacht, forcing the pilots to land in the water," Hector Vera, an official in charge of the nearby coast guard station in the port of Ushuaia, said in a phone interview.

[helihub]

What are the salvage rules for floating helicopters? Does it become more likely to get involved in "salvage rights" laws if it isn't floating?

[bolkow]

Capt Gonzo, I am interested to know why the EC145 is better than the explorer, not questioning what you're saying, just want the information.

[krypton_john]

The ship would have a few large inflatable boats - they should have rafted one up either side of the helicopter,

[Capt.Gonzo]

@mfriskel (http://www.pprune.org/members/99217-mfriskel): Of course it is just my own opinion ;)

@bolkow: In my opinion the EC-145 has the better avionics and the more modern Cockpit layout. I like the Autopilot of the EC very much. It provides you more space, more power and a greater endurance.

A few years ago the EMS fleet in Germany operated a mix of MD and EC Helicopters. Now the MD´s are all gone they were replaced also with EC´s.

People which flew both the EC 145 and the MD Explorer tell me that they prefer the EC-145.
I have never tested the Explorer myself but I´m satisfied with the EC-145.

[mfriskel]

Did I mention that the first operational machine I flew was the OH-58A. It was the only actual point of reference I had then and I was very satisfied with it.