Christchurch wedding day helicopter crash
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Christchurch wedding day helicopter crash
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 13th Jun 2021 at 21:09. Reason: Fix url
what would lead to such a high vertical energy crash? (two broken back)
blades still intact and tail broke off by itself, that's a change ...
no fire is always a good thing
blades still intact and tail broke off by itself, that's a change ...
no fire is always a good thing
It was a photo job. It seems there were 4 POB. One could speculate. Low height. Low speed. Reasonably heavy. Turn out of the wind. An oopsie moment. Before you know it high sink rate, loss of directional control, splatter. Often the way with photo job accidents. Or maybe the engine suddenly stopped at a really bad place on the H/V diagram, the end result is the same.
Avoid imitations
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Oh dear, not another one ending in disaster. Two things I very much try to avoid getting involved with when flying helicopters. Photographers and weddings. Both things together end up like this far too often.
AIDS strikes....Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome.....as you well know like so many of us!
Starting your nuptials in a Robbie is a good idea. Nothing says I am a tight arse with little taste in a more obvious way, the bar for the future is set low. It makes it so much easier to over achieve 
Avoid imitations
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The number of accidents in this region from weddings and arrivals at, what the yanks would call "prom", is concerning.
Almost always it is a PPL friend, or friend of a friend, sometimes even a wet behind the ears comm pilot grabbing another hour.
This is what you get when you want to make an arrival at low-to-no cost.
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Kind of a skewed demographic. Give the price point for helicopter-born wedding arrivals, piston vs. turbine, of course we are going to see Robinsons being ubiquitous in this role. And thus we see almost exclusively Robinson crashes associated with this sort of operation. Just like we see almost exclusively MD500 crashes when stringing power lines and other utility work. It's a rare day when you can blame the machine in either case. Emotionally harder for the public to consume when it involves members of the bridal party, though.
I myself am smack in the middle of this territory. Low time commercial pilot already asked by friends to do a wedding day delivery. The venue did not support a safe arrival and thus I passed on the event. I told them if they could come up with another, workable idea, I'd reconsider. However I don't think the Part 91 LOA I operate under will cover it, so it would have to be a "favor".
I myself am smack in the middle of this territory. Low time commercial pilot already asked by friends to do a wedding day delivery. The venue did not support a safe arrival and thus I passed on the event. I told them if they could come up with another, workable idea, I'd reconsider. However I don't think the Part 91 LOA I operate under will cover it, so it would have to be a "favor".
If they ever come out with that Cabri with a back seat (and people can actually afford it) I have no doubt it will give the 44 a run for its money in the "suddenly dropped out of the sky" stats.
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Agreed. The pilot demographic will be nearly the same as for the R44, and those pilots will make the same mistakes they always do.
Interestingly, if a putative "G4" were to cost half again what an R44 costs, it might be a tough decision between that and a used R66, depending upon how many hours were being flown a year, etc.
Interestingly, if a putative "G4" were to cost half again what an R44 costs, it might be a tough decision between that and a used R66, depending upon how many hours were being flown a year, etc.
How many marriages start off with buckets of money?
I was lucky to be able to afford the petrol to run off to South Carolina and get married by a Justice of the Peace.
I was lucky to be able to afford the petrol to run off to South Carolina and get married by a Justice of the Peace.
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On a tragic note here in Oz some time back a bride was killed on the way to her wedding when the B47 being flown by, I think, her brother hit wires.
Unbelievably sad.
Unbelievably sad.