what's the most stupid thing a passenger has done?
This came from a very good source and somewhat explains why Bristow took Generator failures very seriously.
212 over the sea in South America, starter-generator fails and somehow the cabin and cockpit fills with dense smoke, pilot starts to descend and eventually when the smoke clears, not only had one pax had disappeared but also the co-pilot. It was later judged that they left the aircraft at about 200'. There is a generator overheat switch but with absolutely no maintenance or test instructions in the MM, so it was probably set far too high in this case.
212 over the sea in South America, starter-generator fails and somehow the cabin and cockpit fills with dense smoke, pilot starts to descend and eventually when the smoke clears, not only had one pax had disappeared but also the co-pilot. It was later judged that they left the aircraft at about 200'. There is a generator overheat switch but with absolutely no maintenance or test instructions in the MM, so it was probably set far too high in this case.
Borneo mid sixties. Operating with a Whirlwind HC1 (S55 with a jet engine to you Americans) on the border with Indonesia. I was flying solo, no crewman, shuttling Ghurkhas rotating from an FOB called Pensiangan to our main base at Sepulot. Loading was simple: Hold up four fingers when you land and four Ghurkhas run in with their kit. One thumps your leg when they are ready and off you go. They tend to collect things so they would carry other packs apart from their army kit so allowing 220lbs each for a Ghurkha base transfer was about right.
I picked up the last stick, only three of them. They had a lot of stuff but weight wasn’t a problem so off I went. I had just settled in the cruise when this gibbon climbed up through the left hand footwell. He climbed onto the seat and looked at me. Not liking what he saw he turned and started to launch out through the port window. Just as he was going out he looked down and realised that he was a thousand feet above the trees so he grabbed the cyclic and pulled himself back in again. Now both of us were looking UP at the trees.
He was now terrified so he jumped for comfort to the nearest human, i.e.me. In a flash he was wrapped round my shoulders and head and trying to strangle me. I got him off and as I pushed him back to the other side two sets of brown hands poked through the floor to recover him. One hand got hold of a leg but little gibbon wasn’t interested. There are lots of things to grab hold of if you don’t want to go out through the floor. Cyclics, collectives, speed select levers, HP cocks and he was having a go at most of them.
There was nothing I could do. I had clamped the collective so I had a hand free to fend off his attentions to the switches and cocks on the centre console. He wasn’t interested in going down and his keeper couldn’t get him down. The only thing I could do was put it on the ground and sort it out then.
There was a clearing with a sandy river bank ahead that I had used before so I set up the descent. As be passed through two hundred the gibbon started to take an interest in the scenery and fortunately the blokes downstairs did too so things calmed down a bit.
It was quite peaceful until we touched down and then the gibbon shook himself free and bolted through the port window. There was a screech as he passed the jet pipe but then he disappeared on all fours into the trees at ten o’clock. Two nanoseconds later a Ghurkha rocketed after him with his Armalite and disappeared into the same trees. I was now stuck. I couldn’t shut down as in Borneo a river can go from zero to twenty feet of water in five minutes and I didn’t have enough fuel to wait very long. After a minute or so I managed to get the attention of one of the other passengers and got him to climb up the side of the aircraft so I could shout at him.
He didn’t speak English so I pointed in the last known position of his mate and held out my hands in a query fashion. He gave me a thumbs up, spun a finger and pointed upwards. I repeated his sign language and he nodded and gave another thumbs up. With that he climbed back into the cabin and thumped my leg to show that they were ready. Not a lot I could do so I took off and flew to Sepulot.
We were living in the Ghurkha officer’s basher so I collared OC HQ Coy and told him what had happened. I described where I had left him but he wasn’t concerned. “He’ll be back tomorrow,” and he was. Complete with gibbon..
I picked up the last stick, only three of them. They had a lot of stuff but weight wasn’t a problem so off I went. I had just settled in the cruise when this gibbon climbed up through the left hand footwell. He climbed onto the seat and looked at me. Not liking what he saw he turned and started to launch out through the port window. Just as he was going out he looked down and realised that he was a thousand feet above the trees so he grabbed the cyclic and pulled himself back in again. Now both of us were looking UP at the trees.
He was now terrified so he jumped for comfort to the nearest human, i.e.me. In a flash he was wrapped round my shoulders and head and trying to strangle me. I got him off and as I pushed him back to the other side two sets of brown hands poked through the floor to recover him. One hand got hold of a leg but little gibbon wasn’t interested. There are lots of things to grab hold of if you don’t want to go out through the floor. Cyclics, collectives, speed select levers, HP cocks and he was having a go at most of them.
There was nothing I could do. I had clamped the collective so I had a hand free to fend off his attentions to the switches and cocks on the centre console. He wasn’t interested in going down and his keeper couldn’t get him down. The only thing I could do was put it on the ground and sort it out then.
There was a clearing with a sandy river bank ahead that I had used before so I set up the descent. As be passed through two hundred the gibbon started to take an interest in the scenery and fortunately the blokes downstairs did too so things calmed down a bit.
It was quite peaceful until we touched down and then the gibbon shook himself free and bolted through the port window. There was a screech as he passed the jet pipe but then he disappeared on all fours into the trees at ten o’clock. Two nanoseconds later a Ghurkha rocketed after him with his Armalite and disappeared into the same trees. I was now stuck. I couldn’t shut down as in Borneo a river can go from zero to twenty feet of water in five minutes and I didn’t have enough fuel to wait very long. After a minute or so I managed to get the attention of one of the other passengers and got him to climb up the side of the aircraft so I could shout at him.
He didn’t speak English so I pointed in the last known position of his mate and held out my hands in a query fashion. He gave me a thumbs up, spun a finger and pointed upwards. I repeated his sign language and he nodded and gave another thumbs up. With that he climbed back into the cabin and thumped my leg to show that they were ready. Not a lot I could do so I took off and flew to Sepulot.
We were living in the Ghurkha officer’s basher so I collared OC HQ Coy and told him what had happened. I described where I had left him but he wasn’t concerned. “He’ll be back tomorrow,” and he was. Complete with gibbon..
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In PNG I have twice seen pax walk under the tail of the Hughes 500, while the engine was running. Being low, they ducked their heads right into the hot blast from the exhaust. I know it must have hurt but it was funny to see one man banging the side of his head with his hand like a bee had stung him.
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Quite a few years ago was called out early morning to p/u a couple of SAR techs who had been parachuted into a bad plank crash that was attempting to land at a small community in N.Ontario, killed everyone on board unfortunately. Anyways flew the two techs back into the community airport, where all the media had by then arrived, CBC, CTV etc with cameras rolling. Two SAR techs deplaned Astar with rotors turning and both of them ducked under the tail boom right in front of cameras. Took them aside when I eventually shut down and had a little word, they were very apologetic and seems they had been used to riding along in the old Labradors. Think they got grief off the C/O when he saw the news footage.
On another note wasn;t a pax but a drill helper this last saturday. Was moving a drill with a B2, last load was a supply pump with fuel tank that needed to be placed at their water source. Landed the pump on a 100ft line and asked on radio for the guy to give me back the 4point that was on pump and 2point that was on tank. Guy hooks them back on hook and gives me the signal. Start pulling and see the guy grab hold of the line, at first thought he was catching a ride outta the swamp until I saw him tip upside down, strange, then I realised he had inadvertantly got his foot wrapped up in sling gear just as I was putting him down he fell off into the swamp....got pretty wet, but gave me a good laugh, pleased I was paying attention........
On another note wasn;t a pax but a drill helper this last saturday. Was moving a drill with a B2, last load was a supply pump with fuel tank that needed to be placed at their water source. Landed the pump on a 100ft line and asked on radio for the guy to give me back the 4point that was on pump and 2point that was on tank. Guy hooks them back on hook and gives me the signal. Start pulling and see the guy grab hold of the line, at first thought he was catching a ride outta the swamp until I saw him tip upside down, strange, then I realised he had inadvertantly got his foot wrapped up in sling gear just as I was putting him down he fell off into the swamp....got pretty wet, but gave me a good laugh, pleased I was paying attention........
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Not quite a passenger faux pas, but close. In about 1966 whilst I was flying the SAR Whirlwind 7 at RNAS Culdrose it was decided, as it was Christmas, to fly Christmas cakes to any ships deploying at that time who wer passing close to the Lizard. Quess who got the delivery jobs. One of the ships going to sea just before Christmas was a diesel submarine of the old school. No problem finding her but it was too rough to put their crew on to the deck to collect the cake, so a winch down of said cake into the conning tower was the only answer. The bridge crew peeked into the bag containing the cake and disappeared down the hatch! One small thing they had forgotten was to unhook the winch hook! Keep winching down to keep us at a reasonable height above the coning tower as the wire kept on going down! Radio contact - you must be joking! I just sat there thinking we must be the first Whirlwind to be towed into the south west approaches by a submarine. Several minutes later a very sheepish looking officer appeared with a coil of winch wire and a hook. In the bag - a bottle of duty free. Great Christmas....
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During the BTEC campaign and as everything involved in that would know, having to put up with the Veterinarians was a major problem. They would 'arrive', and always want to come along and contribute their intelligence instead of leaving the real work to the real people like the stock inspectors do it.
This day we had a Vet, as pax (shooter) in one of a four machine detail positioning from Timber Creek in the NT to Bradshaw Station, a flight of forty minutes or so.
As usual and as its mostly en route we flew along the mighty Victoria R. It is renowned for deep very turbulent water and very nasty lizards of the salt water eating humans variety. It reaches 240' deep in some places.
We arrived and jumped out at the fuel spot, talked and took tea and scones with the most hospitable resident owner, when the "vet?" noticed that his firearm, an SLR is missing.
Ol' mate had been flying along with the barrel stuck on the door post of the Bell '47 and with the butt beside the seat squab in the cabin. Nothing unusual about that, he must have bumped it somehow.
Then he says we should go back look for it. Oh Yeah.
This day we had a Vet, as pax (shooter) in one of a four machine detail positioning from Timber Creek in the NT to Bradshaw Station, a flight of forty minutes or so.
As usual and as its mostly en route we flew along the mighty Victoria R. It is renowned for deep very turbulent water and very nasty lizards of the salt water eating humans variety. It reaches 240' deep in some places.
We arrived and jumped out at the fuel spot, talked and took tea and scones with the most hospitable resident owner, when the "vet?" noticed that his firearm, an SLR is missing.
Ol' mate had been flying along with the barrel stuck on the door post of the Bell '47 and with the butt beside the seat squab in the cabin. Nothing unusual about that, he must have bumped it somehow.
Then he says we should go back look for it. Oh Yeah.
Having demonstrated NOE to some junior Officers in our mighty Gazelle, I glanced round to see one of our previously enthusiastic pax trying to unload his breakfast through the rose vent in the back door. As he was seated in the middle seat, his companion was less than pleased with his efforts.
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Just thinking about things that happen that with a bit more thought I could have avoided.
Once i was asked to take a girl in from this place to Mt. Isa who fallen off a horse and hurt her neck. She wasnt too badly hurt but anyway I didnt realise that she was close to spewing from the turbulence and when I landed at the Isa Hangar I faced straight in towards the hangar like always when this girl lept out as soon as i touched down and when straight down the back standing about 2 inches outside the tailrotor spewing her heart out. I frictioned down as quick as I could and went back and eased her away from the Tail Rotor. She was embarassed to be seen spewing by all the people at the hangar and if I had realised it I could have landed sideon so she wouldnt be seen. Lucky escape.
Once i was asked to take a girl in from this place to Mt. Isa who fallen off a horse and hurt her neck. She wasnt too badly hurt but anyway I didnt realise that she was close to spewing from the turbulence and when I landed at the Isa Hangar I faced straight in towards the hangar like always when this girl lept out as soon as i touched down and when straight down the back standing about 2 inches outside the tailrotor spewing her heart out. I frictioned down as quick as I could and went back and eased her away from the Tail Rotor. She was embarassed to be seen spewing by all the people at the hangar and if I had realised it I could have landed sideon so she wouldnt be seen. Lucky escape.
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I was flying this old HM machine once at Lawn Hill and had taken the boss up for a look at a fire. I came into this spot to drop him off at his vehicle and the only place was just past the cars down the fence a bit. We landed and I was screwing it down when next thing this face appeared looking in at me from the pax side, he disappeared towards the back of the chopper and an instant later was at my side of the machine. Turns out he was an old bloke who i knew from years ago and he was super keen to catch up with me. I got the manager to take him forward until i got it shut down. I got such a fright thinking about how close he must have been to the tailrotor i couldnt talk properly for a fair while.
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In a previous job I did scenics in R44's. Day was coming to an end and I was the only one left at work ready to close up.
Big family of tourists come in and want me to put 5 pax plus me on a flight. I explain I am unable to do this and why (max 4 pax + pilot legally). They refuse to accept this, keep asking me why and try to guilt me saying the child who cant fly will cry and do I want it on my conscience and how can I be so mean. This lasts for 15 minutes or so.
They eventually agree to go flying with the legal amount of pax (4 pax), ie 2 adults plus 2 children sharing one seat (both under 13 years of age and combined weight not exceeding 77kg)
When we land I shut down which takes around 2-3 mins. Despite me explaining to wait until blades have stopped and I say they can get out, I think I counted at least 8 times they tried to get out while blades were still turning, . After I'd say please wait till blades stop before you open the doors they would wait 10-15 seconds or so and try again
Then I notice the rest of the family (who were in the public viewing area) had decided to open the gate which says "Restricted area, Aircrew Only" and walk towards the helicopter, blades still turning (and drooping slightly at this stage), waving their hands at us. The little girl with them was running towards the tail rotor.
Needless to say I promptly told them to stay away.
My new job no longer involves dealing with scenarios like the above
Big family of tourists come in and want me to put 5 pax plus me on a flight. I explain I am unable to do this and why (max 4 pax + pilot legally). They refuse to accept this, keep asking me why and try to guilt me saying the child who cant fly will cry and do I want it on my conscience and how can I be so mean. This lasts for 15 minutes or so.
They eventually agree to go flying with the legal amount of pax (4 pax), ie 2 adults plus 2 children sharing one seat (both under 13 years of age and combined weight not exceeding 77kg)
When we land I shut down which takes around 2-3 mins. Despite me explaining to wait until blades have stopped and I say they can get out, I think I counted at least 8 times they tried to get out while blades were still turning, . After I'd say please wait till blades stop before you open the doors they would wait 10-15 seconds or so and try again
Then I notice the rest of the family (who were in the public viewing area) had decided to open the gate which says "Restricted area, Aircrew Only" and walk towards the helicopter, blades still turning (and drooping slightly at this stage), waving their hands at us. The little girl with them was running towards the tail rotor.
Needless to say I promptly told them to stay away.
My new job no longer involves dealing with scenarios like the above
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While on a drill job in Canada the last job after a drill move was to put the safety shack close to the drill site. The Pad builders had build a little stand for it on the the edge of a steep drop off and at the bottom was a bunch of jumbled rocks. (Not an overly safe spot for a safety shack).
After I put it on the stand the young (and very keen) drillers helper went to unhook the 4 point from the shack instead of the main hook. The 2 uphill side ones were a piece of cake but he couldnt reach the downhill ones so he jumps up on the shack roof which unfortunately has 6 inches of snow on it. Realising the bad move I put the longling close to him. As he slides off the roof and gets airbourne somehow he manages to grab hold of the hook before he nails himself on the rocks 30 feet below the shack.
We had a laugh about it over dinner but he did say it was a pretty scary experience.
After I put it on the stand the young (and very keen) drillers helper went to unhook the 4 point from the shack instead of the main hook. The 2 uphill side ones were a piece of cake but he couldnt reach the downhill ones so he jumps up on the shack roof which unfortunately has 6 inches of snow on it. Realising the bad move I put the longling close to him. As he slides off the roof and gets airbourne somehow he manages to grab hold of the hook before he nails himself on the rocks 30 feet below the shack.
We had a laugh about it over dinner but he did say it was a pretty scary experience.
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I took some people for a scenic one day in a 44 with bubble windows. How about someone opening the forward LHS door in flight ? 
It was raining and about 30 knots and you can't shut a bubble window door in flight, too much "suction" !!! We had to land on a beach and shut the door...not much fun at all.
I now include in my pre-flight breifing the bleedingly obvious statement of -"please do not open the doors in flight".
Arrrj
It was raining and about 30 knots and you can't shut a bubble window door in flight, too much "suction" !!! We had to land on a beach and shut the door...not much fun at all.
I now include in my pre-flight breifing the bleedingly obvious statement of -"please do not open the doors in flight".
Arrrj
