Helicopter down outside Leicester City Football Club
This all makes you think why bother these landings and take-off inside stadiums in general against having a helipad either on the roof or outside the bowl. Your are not in a good spot if something goes south, even if you are using a new high performance state of the art twin.
Yep, I agree. But they seemed awfully high on the way up when things suddenly went pear shaped, given what I can make out of the height of the obstacles in the take-off path.
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: KLOU
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This all makes you think why bother these landings and take-off inside stadiums in general against having a helipad either on the roof or outside the bowl. Your are not in a good spot if something goes south, even if you are using a new high performance state of the art twin.
Turned the volume right up and couldn't hear any bang or grinding noise as reported by some eyewitnesses.
They may have heard main rotor blade slap and mistaken it for the sound of mechanical failure.
I assume a drive shaft can break or TR gearbox fail without any audible sound at that distance.
Chilling video to watch.
They may have heard main rotor blade slap and mistaken it for the sound of mechanical failure.
I assume a drive shaft can break or TR gearbox fail without any audible sound at that distance.
Chilling video to watch.
Yep, I agree. But they seemed awfully high on the way up when things suddenly went pear shaped, given what I can make out of the height of the obstacles in the take-off path.
I don't understand. Just watched the video. The aircraft is rotating clockwise (viewed from above). Surely that's the SAME as the rotor rotation? Or does the 139 have US-style anti-clockwise rotor?
As a medium-time PPL-H I've thought a lot about this accident (like everyone else :-( ). I guess if you lose the TR at low altitude like this, you're pointing where you're pointing (even if you bring the yaw under control) and going where you're going. At altitude you can turn with cyclic, but no time for that here. So unless you have exceptionally good luck, it's not going to end well.
As a medium-time PPL-H I've thought a lot about this accident (like everyone else :-( ). I guess if you lose the TR at low altitude like this, you're pointing where you're pointing (even if you bring the yaw under control) and going where you're going. At altitude you can turn with cyclic, but no time for that here. So unless you have exceptionally good luck, it's not going to end well.
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Posts: 14,573
Received 413 Likes
on
218 Posts
The YouTube video shows what appears to be a normal Class 1 helipad departure followed by a tail rotor drive failure.
The aircraft was flown in a controlled manner to altitude but then yawed slightly to the right. There was a slight pause, then a more rapid yaw set in. Typical for that sort of a failure.
The aircraft was flown in a controlled manner to altitude but then yawed slightly to the right. There was a slight pause, then a more rapid yaw set in. Typical for that sort of a failure.
n5296s - you need speed to retain directional control without the TR and, if you haven't got any speed, you need a lot of height to dive on that speed - he had neither!
If you have ever seen the video of the Wessex going into a Welsh lake many years ago - a colleague of mine was flying it and he had the failure at 60 kts and 1000' - he still ended up in a horrendous spiral descent.
jumpseater - I'd be very surprised if it was disorientation but less surprised if it was a medical issue.
If you have ever seen the video of the Wessex going into a Welsh lake many years ago - a colleague of mine was flying it and he had the failure at 60 kts and 1000' - he still ended up in a horrendous spiral descent.
jumpseater - I'd be very surprised if it was disorientation but less surprised if it was a medical issue.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: UK and MALTA
Age: 61
Posts: 1,297
Likes: 0
Received 18 Likes
on
4 Posts
I hesitate to say this, but if it is a TR Drive/Low power Hard over, he seems to take a long time to react. Many rotations under near hover power before the descent takes place.
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Redhill, Surrey, or another planet
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I was an RAF Engineer Officer involved at the periphery of the Wessex crash.
Attached below is the summary of the accident report.
There are several Youtube videos, just search 'llyn padarn helicopter crash' (I'm too new to post a link here).
Attached below is the summary of the accident report.
There are several Youtube videos, just search 'llyn padarn helicopter crash' (I'm too new to post a link here).
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Cornwall
Age: 75
Posts: 1,307
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Preparing for the worst
When teaching TR Fail (drive fail or worse) in the 139 sim I first caution the candidates about taking care not to take too much detail away with them after this exercise - the sim cannot be relied upon to truly replicate the real event. In any case, as the UK CAA research has shown, there are a variety of failure modes that result in loss of directional control. There are, however, one or two elements of the training that are worthy of remembering and putting to good use in the event that you do suffer the loss of directional control and it applies throughout the flight phases - take-off, transition and cruise. That vital action is to quickly lower the collective fully. The second vital action is to close down the engines if in transition to facilitate a pitch-pull prior to ground contact. Failure to do this will result in making the situation worse during the 'arrival' at terra firma. In the cruise, you have more options provided you have been quick enough lowering the collective and are not spinning. It's possible to make use of the engine power to reduce RoD if required but by 500 ft the engines should be off. We see a perfect application of these principles when a 139 threw a blade in Macau. It works, but your reaction has to be instantaneous and to condition yourself for such a horrific event you need to practice - a number of times - in a good quality Full FLight Sim. If the loss of directional control occurs in the hover just lower the collective immediately an close down the engines after you are safely down.
G
G
Last edited by Geoffersincornwall; 31st Oct 2018 at 08:06. Reason: typo
Thread Starter
Looking at that, I dont think it is something off the helicopter. It is travelling much too fast and more likely to be something flying past or being blown past, much closer to the camera.
