rotornut
6th Aug 2011, 13:15
Pilot, student walk away from helicopter crash (http://www.calgaryherald.com/Pilot+student+walk+away+from+helicopter+crash/5213858/story.html)
Two people were lucky to walk away relatively unscathed from a helicopter crash at the Springbank Airport on Friday morning.
Shortly before noon, a helicopter with two passengers, a student and instructor, was practising in the hover position, which is one of the most unstable spot for a helicopter to be in, according to Larry Stock, Springbank Airport general manager for the Calgary Airport Authority.
He said it looks like one of the skids on the helicopter touched the ground and caused the chopper to flip over on its left side, where the student was sitting.
The two people were left with cuts and bruises, said Stock. EMS treated them on scene but the pair were not transported to hospital.
“He (the student) is probably counting his lucky stars,” said Stock. “Both of them probably are.
“In the aviation world, they say any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.
The helicopter was not nearly as lucky with the routers severely damaged, the spine was weakened and the Plexiglas inside in the body shattered.
It was transferred to a nearby hangar and it’s unknown if the chopper is fixed.
“As an airport operator and general manager, you don’t like to see accidents that cause damage, especially severe damage,” Stock said. “However, when you see two people walking around, let’s just say it made my day.”
Stock said the accident was during an introductory flight, which he explained as a trial run for students to decide if they want to commit to more training.
He said they typically last between 30 and 40 minutes with the student taking control of the chopper briefly during the flight.
That being said, he doesn’t know who was at the controls when the accident happened.
The runway was shut down while the helicopter was transferred off. It was reopened about 30 minutes after the flight.
The fixed0wing runways were not affected.
Stock said the federal Transportation Safety Board has been involved from the beginning, although they weren’t required to visit the site since there were no injuries.
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© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/5213859.bin?size=620x400s
Two people were lucky to walk away relatively unscathed from a helicopter crash at the Springbank Airport on Friday morning.
Shortly before noon, a helicopter with two passengers, a student and instructor, was practising in the hover position, which is one of the most unstable spot for a helicopter to be in, according to Larry Stock, Springbank Airport general manager for the Calgary Airport Authority.
He said it looks like one of the skids on the helicopter touched the ground and caused the chopper to flip over on its left side, where the student was sitting.
The two people were left with cuts and bruises, said Stock. EMS treated them on scene but the pair were not transported to hospital.
“He (the student) is probably counting his lucky stars,” said Stock. “Both of them probably are.
“In the aviation world, they say any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.
The helicopter was not nearly as lucky with the routers severely damaged, the spine was weakened and the Plexiglas inside in the body shattered.
It was transferred to a nearby hangar and it’s unknown if the chopper is fixed.
“As an airport operator and general manager, you don’t like to see accidents that cause damage, especially severe damage,” Stock said. “However, when you see two people walking around, let’s just say it made my day.”
Stock said the accident was during an introductory flight, which he explained as a trial run for students to decide if they want to commit to more training.
He said they typically last between 30 and 40 minutes with the student taking control of the chopper briefly during the flight.
That being said, he doesn’t know who was at the controls when the accident happened.
The runway was shut down while the helicopter was transferred off. It was reopened about 30 minutes after the flight.
The fixed0wing runways were not affected.
Stock said the federal Transportation Safety Board has been involved from the beginning, although they weren’t required to visit the site since there were no injuries.
[email protected]
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
http://www.calgaryherald.com/5213859.bin?size=620x400s