Flying Bull Cobra landing went wrong
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Flying Bull Cobra landing went wrong
The Bell Cobra of the austrian Flying Bull team was destroyed when the main rotor struck a roof after landing for refuelling on a small airfield in Austria. The well known pilot was lucky, he had already left the helicopter.
http://www.tt.com/home/13023887-91/h...unverletzt.csp
skadi
http://www.tt.com/home/13023887-91/h...unverletzt.csp
skadi
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: ?
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The report linked above said the accident happened after the pilot left the cockpit - not the case according to the emerging video footage...
Tyrol seems to see a spike in helicopter accidents this month - at least nobody got hurt in this one.
Tyrol seems to see a spike in helicopter accidents this month - at least nobody got hurt in this one.
Last edited by hairline; 25th May 2017 at 18:15. Reason: new information
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Mmh, it was obviously flown into the building
https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3f1_...5sqB5AO3pwO.03
skadi
https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3f1_...5sqB5AO3pwO.03
skadi
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Europe
Age: 38
Posts: 117
Sigfried "Blacky" Schwarz flew the aircraft (chief pilot of the helicopter division of the flying bulls) who's highly experienced. I can't imagine him just flying it into the building trying to park next to the fuel pump. Maybe part of the roof or some sort of canopy over the pumps was dislogded by the downwash and touched the blades. Or maybe he just made a mistake....
Join Date: Aug 2007
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A truly embarrassing moment for Austrias' top dog. Red Bull is trying its best to put a good spin on the story and distance Mr. Blacky from the mishap. First they claim the pilot was already outside the cockpit when the blades struck the building, once the video surfaced the narrative was changed to "the skids were already on the ground when a gust of wind pushed the helicopter towards the building"!
Would it be so unimaginable that a pilot of this excellence and skill could simply have misjudge the distance to the building?
Would it be so unimaginable that a pilot of this excellence and skill could simply have misjudge the distance to the building?
Last edited by imuney; 25th May 2017 at 22:34.
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No gust of wind, no extraneous influence - that is just a f*ckup.
Why? if he is flying from RHS then cross-cockpit judgement of distance would be tricky. If from LHS then no excuse.
Don't they have ground marshallers?
Why? if he is flying from RHS then cross-cockpit judgement of distance would be tricky. If from LHS then no excuse.
Don't they have ground marshallers?
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: UK
Posts: 280
Why? if he is flying from RHS then cross-cockpit judgement of distance would be tricky. If from LHS then no excuse.
Watching the video it sounds like the blades initially just clip the building before part of it comes loose and it all goes south quickly.
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Australia
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This video is from the first post link.
Lucky cameraman.
http://www.tt.com/home/13023887-91/h....csp?tab=video
Lucky cameraman.
http://www.tt.com/home/13023887-91/h....csp?tab=video
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Originally Posted by [email protected]
No gust of wind, no extraneous influence - that is just a f*ckup.
Why? if he is flying from RHS then cross-cockpit judgement of distance would be tricky. If from LHS then no excuse.
Don't they have ground marshallers?
Why? if he is flying from RHS then cross-cockpit judgement of distance would be tricky. If from LHS then no excuse.
Don't they have ground marshallers?
skadi
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Netherlands
Age: 49
Posts: 1,234
Originally Posted by [email protected]
Doh! should have gone to Specsavers! me for missing the aircraft type and the pilot for not missing the building
Cobra was flown sideways,
Pilot looks therefore to be in the left hand seat.
No excuses!
I think the rotorblades were just above the roof. When pitch was reduced the whole thing exploded.
SLB
Join Date: Dec 2012
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The article linked in the first post has been updated with some quotes from the pilot himself directly after the incident. He said "I flew there pretty close, had the heli already on the ground and got out. The blades were spinning down. Then the machine must have been moved a little and the blades touched the roof."
That the Bell is now just a pile of junk is "annoying, but she wasn't worth much. She is really old."
Now he admits "I took back power which causes the rotor to be pushed down. During that it touched a wall. It was really windy, that certainly played some role. Yes, I unfortunately misjudged the situation. It was like a parking accident."
He also said that the Cobra will be repaired and should be serviceable again.
So I guess the first statement was some kind of shock-induced reaction...
That the Bell is now just a pile of junk is "annoying, but she wasn't worth much. She is really old."
Now he admits "I took back power which causes the rotor to be pushed down. During that it touched a wall. It was really windy, that certainly played some role. Yes, I unfortunately misjudged the situation. It was like a parking accident."
He also said that the Cobra will be repaired and should be serviceable again.
So I guess the first statement was some kind of shock-induced reaction...
