SANDF Chopper down

[F-16GUY]

Originally Posted by Bell_ringer

Not sure what relevance old vs new wires have in a see and avoid environment.
Wirestrikes are a common risk, even known wires.
Stats show that most involved with Wirestrikes are not inexperienced, it can happen to anyone.

In the military service I'm familiar with, you are required to do propper planning for any low level flight, to include CHUM'ing (Chart Update Manual) the route on your map, checking NOTAMS and going through the Obstruction Database.

https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/tw5/ht18...ardization.pdf
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/flig...nav/obst_data/

Sure wirestrikes are a common risk, but you can reduce the risk significantly by propper planning even if flying in see and avoid environment. Remember, its the one you dont see that kills you...

[GordonR_Cape]

Originally Posted by GordonR_Cape

On another forum there are those insisting that there is a new wire. It is not clear who to believe, in the absence of factual evidence, such as damage to the existing powerlines.

After watching the dashcam video full screen on a desktop monitor, it is obvious that at 00:30 there are broken powerlines lying in the road (this was not clear from the audio comments). The location of those broken cables matches the exact position of the long-existing cables, as shown on Google Street View. Those suggesting there are new cables, are clutching at straws IMO.

Edit: After posting, it occurred to me that the presence of an existing set of high voltage powerlines reduces the likelihood of new wires close to zero, since it would be bad practice to overlap cables, if at all.