Destruction in Missouri
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There was a lot of loss there - my empathy....
Grumytroll
Just 'cause I'm curious, should I draw the conclusion that the helicopter was running when it was flipped by the tornado? All four blades borken off equally... If so, that would be a terrifying experience for the crew, probably trying to get the helicopter out of the way, to save it to got immediately to work. Crew okay?
Grumytroll
Just 'cause I'm curious, should I draw the conclusion that the helicopter was running when it was flipped by the tornado? All four blades borken off equally... If so, that would be a terrifying experience for the crew, probably trying to get the helicopter out of the way, to save it to got immediately to work. Crew okay?
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Looks like the blades were all coned up when snapped off which is much like the Apache blades looked like in Kileen after a tornado went down the flight line. BTW, none of the Blackhawk blades snapped off and a few Apache pilots refused to fly the Apaches afterwards. Never heard anything about that afterwards.
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My friend's wife (now living in leafy Surrey) is originally from Joplin. She's just learned that all her friends and family are safely accounted for. It was a nasty sob.
Yea apparently thats the Tornado starting to form just north of Oklahoma before touching down and hitting Missouri 
Some aerial pictures.
Joplin MO tornado: At least 89 dead as twister cuts 4-mile swathe through Missouri town | Mail Online
Some aerial pictures.
Joplin MO tornado: At least 89 dead as twister cuts 4-mile swathe through Missouri town | Mail Online
In today's (Tuesday) newspaper, there was a picture of the BK (EC?) with the caption that the tornado relocated the ship to the hospital parking lot, and didn't set it down gently. If the engine were running, I would have thought the head would show more damage. (I tried to post the pic, but the procedure I read did not work.)
I e-mailed my instructor, who used to fly EMS in Joplin for that same company, and has BK time. He currently flies a 206 for ENG, and I assumed he would have flown to the site to take video for broadcast. Here's his response:
"We did fly down there yesterday. Very difficult with all the complications of: more weather coming through, a nasty ATC guy and his TFR that pushed us up to 3500', and we are flying a spare aircraft not equipped with what we normally have.
I don't think the Medflight aircraft was running, it would be a very different damage pattern (ie. The transmission/rotor head would have separated) Given the type and severity of damage surrounding the hospital the wind snapping off rotor blades would have been no big deal.
It was the most stunning damage I have ever seen from a tornado, particularly because it slammed perfectly into such a densely populated area.
I had a crash pad down there near a pretty busy main intersection (20th and Connecticut) virtually everything in the 4 blocks surrounding that intersection is gone! Houses,trees,poles,commercial buildings etc.
Incredible."
The report today was 122 dead (so far), and just as shockingly, 1500 missing. Because many buildings had the roof collapse, there are likely many still buried under rubble.
I e-mailed my instructor, who used to fly EMS in Joplin for that same company, and has BK time. He currently flies a 206 for ENG, and I assumed he would have flown to the site to take video for broadcast. Here's his response:
"We did fly down there yesterday. Very difficult with all the complications of: more weather coming through, a nasty ATC guy and his TFR that pushed us up to 3500', and we are flying a spare aircraft not equipped with what we normally have.
I don't think the Medflight aircraft was running, it would be a very different damage pattern (ie. The transmission/rotor head would have separated) Given the type and severity of damage surrounding the hospital the wind snapping off rotor blades would have been no big deal.
It was the most stunning damage I have ever seen from a tornado, particularly because it slammed perfectly into such a densely populated area.
I had a crash pad down there near a pretty busy main intersection (20th and Connecticut) virtually everything in the 4 blocks surrounding that intersection is gone! Houses,trees,poles,commercial buildings etc.
Incredible."
The report today was 122 dead (so far), and just as shockingly, 1500 missing. Because many buildings had the roof collapse, there are likely many still buried under rubble.
