Yet Another Fatal Wirestrike
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,081
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From: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
Originally Posted by [email protected]
I got caught out that night,
I got it wrong
I got it wrong
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,081
Likes: 189
From: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
And for those that do not know---this is how we put up marker balls for PG&E, incidentally this is the hangar sister to the one i hit the wires with--they are identical.
Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Lower Troposphere
So just curious.....is that a single hook set up on the single engine helicopter with a human hanging off the end or is that a belly strap transforming the long dog into a poor utilities super HEC machine? I thought PG&E had a 145 for that type of work?
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,081
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From: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
PG&E only owns 4 Black Hawks and those are operated for them by a contractor... all other aircraft on property are contractor owned and operated. There are no 145's flying on property that I know of. There are two Bell 429's on contract, but they may or may not be used for HEC....90% of the HEC is conducted using Long Rangers or 407's and there may be a few 500's.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 557
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From: At home
This is an old photo, it was a single hook with belly band. We now use the On-board double hook system.
PG&E only owns 4 Black Hawks and those are operated for them by a contractor... all other aircraft on property are contractor owned and operated. There are no 145's flying on property that I know of. There are two Bell 429's on contract, but they may or may not be used for HEC....90% of the HEC is conducted using Long Rangers or 407's and there may be a few 500's.
PG&E only owns 4 Black Hawks and those are operated for them by a contractor... all other aircraft on property are contractor owned and operated. There are no 145's flying on property that I know of. There are two Bell 429's on contract, but they may or may not be used for HEC....90% of the HEC is conducted using Long Rangers or 407's and there may be a few 500's.
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,081
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From: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 803
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From: Pensacola, Florida
Your last paragraph shows the attitude that will keep killing helicopter pilots. I get that we operate differently to fixed wing around weather. This is because we can slow down or land as it turns crap. They can't therefore have higher mins. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have any minima.
Your story reads like you were hover taxiing at or below tree top height in cloud just to drop a dude at his hunting spot. You said yourself it was tense but I get the feeling you would do it again. Just because we CAN do that doesn't mean we SHOULD do it. Had you been on a rescue then yeah maybe that's worth it but in your case the juice ain't worth the squeeze.
I do want to note that I have never faced the commercial pressure that does appear to be the main issue
Your story reads like you were hover taxiing at or below tree top height in cloud just to drop a dude at his hunting spot. You said yourself it was tense but I get the feeling you would do it again. Just because we CAN do that doesn't mean we SHOULD do it. Had you been on a rescue then yeah maybe that's worth it but in your case the juice ain't worth the squeeze.
I do want to note that I have never faced the commercial pressure that does appear to be the main issue
FIGJAM? Nah. Sometimes it's FILJAM. Sometimes we're just lucky. And over the course of 35 years of doing this for money, I have occasionally been luckier than I deserved.
But also, sometimes we're good.
Joined: Apr 2000
Aviation Qualifications: ATP+Mil
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From: EGDC
Dancing on the head of a pin FH1100?
So you were hovertaxiing in cloud along a road at a height low enough to alarm car drivers - unless I am missing something.
You say you were lucky but you got away with it and it certainly sounds like you would do it again - that is exactly the mentality that leads to accidents like New Orleans and so many others.
PS being lucky and getting away with it doesn't make you 'good'.
And that comment says everything about a machismo attitude to aviation that causes accidents
All was good until we got to that high point, where the clouds were down in the trees. I slowed down and got down over a lightly traveled country road. I won't lie, it was tense, and I'm sure that the few car drivers we encountered thought we were crazy. After what seemed like an eternity, the ground fell away and gave us some clearance between it and the clouds. We continued on to the hunting camp.
You say you were lucky but you got away with it and it certainly sounds like you would do it again - that is exactly the mentality that leads to accidents like New Orleans and so many others.
PS being lucky and getting away with it doesn't make you 'good'.
And a lot of times, we fly in weather conditions that keep our fixed-wing brethren cowering like scared little girls in pilot lounges all across the nation,
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Redding CA, or on a fire somewhere
Originally Posted by [email protected]
PS being lucky and getting away with it doesn't make you 'good'.
And that comment says everything about a machismo attitude to aviation that causes accidents
And that comment says everything about a machismo attitude to aviation that causes accidents
Joined: Sep 2017
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From: In the Doghouse
Blame is for the weak
Joined: Jun 2016
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
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From: Brantisvogan
That's also the philosophy used when pilots refuse to take responsibility for their lack of good judgment.
It's too easy to shrug the shoulders and chalk it up to !!!! happens, half the reason the same accidents still happen as often as they do.
In aviation, blame should be avoided to encourage transparency, this only works in professional outfits with a professional culture.
In the civil world, once the lawyers are unleashed, it is entirely about blame - because accidents don't create themselves, and someone must pay.
So don't delude yourself about blame.
It is the weak who think they will never be blamed for the consequences of their actions.
It's too easy to shrug the shoulders and chalk it up to !!!! happens, half the reason the same accidents still happen as often as they do.
In aviation, blame should be avoided to encourage transparency, this only works in professional outfits with a professional culture.
In the civil world, once the lawyers are unleashed, it is entirely about blame - because accidents don't create themselves, and someone must pay.
So don't delude yourself about blame.
It is the weak who think they will never be blamed for the consequences of their actions.
Joined: Sep 2018
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
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From: California
,...but how about we cut the crap, and just start taking responsibility for the situations we put ourselves into?
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Florida
