Gold Coast Qld: underslung load happening
Thread Starter
Joined: Aug 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
Posts: 4,411
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From: Gold Coast, Australia
Gold Coast Qld: underslung load happening
Not much to say, except no-one was hurt. If I was the pilot I might have had a shut down and a quiet cup of tea before the third load, though 
Joined: Apr 1998
Posts: 4
Likes: 1
From: Mesopotamos
Looks like the pilot actually did alright, something goes wrong with a high rate of descent developing, the pilot turns the machine around and plonks the load in the safest place - the river. It's only a water tank.
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 38
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From: Somerset
Looks like he picks up into wind, turns down wind and descends to find the load weight is almost certainly not as advertised, tries to turn back into wind and arrest the rate of descent but has to take the safest route (other than jettison) of putting it into the water. Good job as I see it??? Might have been a little less keen to turn down wind, personally.
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 464
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From: UK
I think it was as Cattletruck and SBD said, once he had a ROD on at high weight then it would have been difficult to arrest the ROD and he took the best action of putting it down in a clear area. Certainly don't think it was Vortex ring as the ROD didn't get any worse and the recovery expected would have been nose down into forward flight. Had he continued to try and arrest the ROD with more pitch, then he could have put himself into a VR situation. As has been said, take 5 to calm the nerves and ready to go again as long as there was not over-limiting of the a/c.
Joined: Apr 1998
Posts: 4
Likes: 1
From: Mesopotamos
The ROD seems to increase drastically when the helicopter descends below the building height which makes me think did the pilot get caught in some down draught of a wind rotor caused by that row of high rise buildings along the coast.
Weather seems calm enough but you can see a few waves on the ocean.
Weather seems calm enough but you can see a few waves on the ocean.
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,833
Likes: 2
From: Sale, Australia
Been there, done that. Heavy, heavy sling load in a 206 into a river bed surrounded by sheer cliffs. Steep descent required, and proved to be just too, too much. collective at max power, unable to arrest the descent until the load hit the ground, gently as it turned out - all luck, no judgement. Tasmania, a great place to teach yourself about mountain flying. Many heart stopping moments, was a case of the blind leading the blind.
