CV-22 Incident at Addenbrooke Hospital
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Is it the aircrew's fault when
It's seldom the crew themselves who do the assessment but will get the blame when whoever did the reccie spent more time assessing the refreshment facilities rather than the operational area. Having been on the receiving end of poor reccie more than once, it's not pleasant.
Planners for the exercise have assessed the area
What about a basic 5 S recce before landing or even an assessment of final approach? That is for the aircrew to do.
Even as they pulled pitch to take off, they should have seen the matting started to lift and held on the ground while it was checked for security - very lucky none of it went into the rotors.
Even as they pulled pitch to take off, they should have seen the matting started to lift and held on the ground while it was checked for security - very lucky none of it went into the rotors.
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The pad is indeed a 'cheap' solution - the NHS isn't made of money! I believe there are still occasions when the air ambulance actually lands at Marshalls and they ferry the patient across to Addenbrooke's by road.
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I rebuilt a 152 that had been flipped, we had to buy a backend off one in the USA, then join them together just aft of the windscreen. Pilot (French) was going to Paris but bad weather forced him to divert to Le Touquet airfield, imagine his surprise when out of fuel and with the weather clear he found himself over Kent, he put it down perfectly in a ploughed field in line with the furrows. Unable to fly out the USAF offered a CH53 to lift it, resulting in it upside down with the backend destroyed and the engine shock loaded.
The other was on the OCU when we took a Puma crew down to Fleetlands in a Chinook to collect a repaired Puma, hovering into the place next to the Puma it’s rotor blades did some pretty impressive movement resulting in us departing while they dragged it back in the shed to start again.
The other was on the OCU when we took a Puma crew down to Fleetlands in a Chinook to collect a repaired Puma, hovering into the place next to the Puma it’s rotor blades did some pretty impressive movement resulting in us departing while they dragged it back in the shed to start again.
The current helipad is considered a temporary installation (and the matting is/was part of that). There are those who want it on top of the building, but that is very difficult (i.e. expensive) if the building wasn't built to the right specification to have one on top (and that is more about coping with worst case scenarios than just the structural strength to support the pad). The helipad is also likely to get moved (again) as a result of the continued development of the site...
The pad is indeed a 'cheap' solution - the NHS isn't made of money! I believe there are still occasions when the air ambulance actually lands at Marshalls and they ferry the patient across to Addenbrooke's by road.
The pad is indeed a 'cheap' solution - the NHS isn't made of money! I believe there are still occasions when the air ambulance actually lands at Marshalls and they ferry the patient across to Addenbrooke's by road.
Personally the temp pad should have stayed as temp pad and priority be given to construct proper hardened areas as with a lot of Hospital helipads in Europe and states.
Anyhow as of Post news, tarmac has been laid replacing the flying carpets, and G-HEMC did fly in albeit hover taxi with folks on board assessing the damage or even post debris clean up.
Minor bit of inconvenience and things be back to normal soon.
Maybe the Trust will invest in proper facilities , but Addenbrookes is a top notch Hospital one of the best in the country. Last big problem they had was several years ago was the introduction of the e-Hospital system as it was horrendous for staff and patients alike. The then CEO (ex Australian Army special forces medic ) resigned honorably as well as the financial director as the hospital was losing few million quid a week with the chaos the e System had.
cheers
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Call me old fashioned but the problem was they missed the pad and landed beside it, if they had landed on then there probably would not have been a problem as the downdraft would not be trying to get under it from the side.
Starting around page 126 it discusses the many back and forth discussions of the highly complicated wing stow mechanism and the shipboard compatibility challenges, which drove much of the program compromises. The program was 50/50 between Bell and Boeing, with Boing responsible for the fuselage and the wing stow, but Bell responsible for the wing, and the companies could not agree for a few years on how to meet the two. The whole mechanism had to rotate without distorting the fuselage and had massively complex runs through it. The were over 40 proposals and a whole mix of metal vs composites debates and "bed frame" vs a ring mechanisms for the whole pivot section. Ultimately an old time engineer Bill Rumberger, who still kept glue and cardboard in his desk drawer to help envision designs won out/outlasted others and was nicknamed "Lord of the Ring" by his engineering buddies.
This is what they need if it is just temporary.....
Faun Trackway as manufactured by the Viet Taff in Llangefni, Isle of Anglesey,
Used to rescue the Chinook that got bogged down in a field a little while ago.
Faun Trackway as manufactured by the Viet Taff in Llangefni, Isle of Anglesey,
Used to rescue the Chinook that got bogged down in a field a little while ago.
Back up and running
I'm told that the matting that was thrown up was not actually the helipad but was a roadway for ambulances to get to and from the helicopter to transfer patients. The smooth surface provided by the matting is required for patients with some injuries eg spinal fractures. This explains why the matting is behind the Osprey as it starts to lift.
I'm told that the matting that was thrown up was not actually the helipad but was a roadway for ambulances to get to and from the helicopter to transfer patients. The smooth surface provided by the matting is required for patients with some injuries eg spinal fractures. This explains why the matting is behind the Osprey as it starts to lift.
Well, that could dispell some posters narratives and pet theories.
