Ohh dear, never mind, helicopter underslung mishaps
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From: Falling off the end of the thread
Ohh dear, never mind, helicopter underslung mishaps
Dropping a chinook from height is impressive,
See the link, I cannot separate it from the site.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/othe...id=socialshare
See the link, I cannot separate it from the site.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/othe...id=socialshare
Gnome de PPRuNe
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From: Too close to Croydon for comfort
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From: Downeast
Anything that rides on a helicopter cargo hook must be considered expendable.
Best story I have from my Chinook days involved a all but brand new UH-1H rigged out as a Command and Control aircraft with the fancy radio console and numerous radios.
The aircraft with less than fifty flying hours on it experienced a simple enough to fix hydraulic failure due to a chafed hose. The Geniuses wearing senior rank badges decided against reasoned input to sling the Huey back to Chu Lai for repair rather than flying a mechanic with a new hose and a couple of spanners and some hydraulic fluid for a field repair.
My aircraft was tasked to do so. We got the add-on tasking late in the day and by the time we got to where the Huey was located.....Darkness fell. Our SOP had us fly a few miles offshore over the South China Sea so as to avoid any hostile fire from the NIMBY locals and NVA visitors.
Huey's generally rode good and we hauled lots of them....so this was a completely normal flight....smooth air....pretty weather...nice Moon....till about halfway home.
Then a slight bump.....a slight change in the ride of the aircraft.....and two Pilots looking at each other with a quizzical look....till one said "Uh Oh!" and a response from the FE in the rear which was something like....."Well...Golly Gee Willikers!" (but said in Soldier speak". I made a steepish turn and we could see the Huey getting very small on its way down from 3500 feet MSL breaking any speed record for that kind of helicopter. Fortunately for us it was the Recovery Team's rigging that had parted and not our donation to it.
The Army can waste money without a second thought. As it was Colonels that made the decision there was no real desire for the truth to be known I suppose.
After that we made a practice of breaking what we called "Doughnuts".....that Web Loop that slides onto the Cargo Hook and where the sliingload final clevis attaches. We stowed one on each aircraft so that in future debacles we could always swear up and down any dropped load was due to a faulty Doughnut!
Best story I have from my Chinook days involved a all but brand new UH-1H rigged out as a Command and Control aircraft with the fancy radio console and numerous radios.
The aircraft with less than fifty flying hours on it experienced a simple enough to fix hydraulic failure due to a chafed hose. The Geniuses wearing senior rank badges decided against reasoned input to sling the Huey back to Chu Lai for repair rather than flying a mechanic with a new hose and a couple of spanners and some hydraulic fluid for a field repair.
My aircraft was tasked to do so. We got the add-on tasking late in the day and by the time we got to where the Huey was located.....Darkness fell. Our SOP had us fly a few miles offshore over the South China Sea so as to avoid any hostile fire from the NIMBY locals and NVA visitors.
Huey's generally rode good and we hauled lots of them....so this was a completely normal flight....smooth air....pretty weather...nice Moon....till about halfway home.
Then a slight bump.....a slight change in the ride of the aircraft.....and two Pilots looking at each other with a quizzical look....till one said "Uh Oh!" and a response from the FE in the rear which was something like....."Well...Golly Gee Willikers!" (but said in Soldier speak". I made a steepish turn and we could see the Huey getting very small on its way down from 3500 feet MSL breaking any speed record for that kind of helicopter. Fortunately for us it was the Recovery Team's rigging that had parted and not our donation to it.
The Army can waste money without a second thought. As it was Colonels that made the decision there was no real desire for the truth to be known I suppose.
After that we made a practice of breaking what we called "Doughnuts".....that Web Loop that slides onto the Cargo Hook and where the sliingload final clevis attaches. We stowed one on each aircraft so that in future debacles we could always swear up and down any dropped load was due to a faulty Doughnut!
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From: Ontario, Canada
For the times that we had hired a helicopter to sling out a GA airplane from the bush, we always tie a 5 foot conifer tree on a line to the tail of the airplane, to prevent exactly what that Chinook did.
Decades back, I was a pilot to deliver a Twin Otter from Holland to Lesotho. We had a great dinner with our host in Lesotho (who invited the Minister of Transport to join us, seeing as we had just flown the seventh airplane into the country). We were told the story: Their previous Twin Otter had departed a small mountain runway, but had a problem and had to return right away. The pilot damaged the airplane just enough on landing back, that repairing it to be flown out was not possible. So, they hired a company to sling it out. As the Twin Otter was too heavy for the Bell 412 to sling out whole, they completely stripped the airplane of everything which they could unbolt, and flew that out first. Then they went back for the airframe. The fellow who told the story said he was aboard the 412 as it was slinging the Twin Otter out. He told us that after a short while, he could feel a sway. I said he looked out a cabin side window, and saw a little of the Twin Otter's wing coming into view... moments later, looking out the other side, other wing.... then a bang and a jolt. The pilot turned back and said "sorry, I had to drop it......".
So they had a complete spares set for the Twin Otter we flew in....
Decades back, I was a pilot to deliver a Twin Otter from Holland to Lesotho. We had a great dinner with our host in Lesotho (who invited the Minister of Transport to join us, seeing as we had just flown the seventh airplane into the country). We were told the story: Their previous Twin Otter had departed a small mountain runway, but had a problem and had to return right away. The pilot damaged the airplane just enough on landing back, that repairing it to be flown out was not possible. So, they hired a company to sling it out. As the Twin Otter was too heavy for the Bell 412 to sling out whole, they completely stripped the airplane of everything which they could unbolt, and flew that out first. Then they went back for the airframe. The fellow who told the story said he was aboard the 412 as it was slinging the Twin Otter out. He told us that after a short while, he could feel a sway. I said he looked out a cabin side window, and saw a little of the Twin Otter's wing coming into view... moments later, looking out the other side, other wing.... then a bang and a jolt. The pilot turned back and said "sorry, I had to drop it......".
So they had a complete spares set for the Twin Otter we flew in....
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From: Downeast
We used to sling O-1E Bird Dogs (Think Cessna 175), Beavers, and Otters under the Chinook frequently....and the odd A-37 now and then.
A very religious experience could be had when the 4x4 timbers strapped to the top of the wings as Spoilers suffered an asymmetric loss when one of them escaped its lashing causing a really crazy kind of oscillations that started in an instant as the timber departed. Having one of the critters poke its nose up in front of the helicopter as it waved around flashing a wingtip in front of the gunners on either side got your attention in a jiffy. That was immediately followed by at the announcement of "Bombs Away! Let's go home!". When hauling airplanes we never put the Cargo Hook Switch on "Safe" and our unit SOP was for the FE who was monitoring the load continuously kept his thumb over the Jettison Button or his hand on the mechanical jettison lever...as the lever was quicker opening than the electrical release.
Sad story however, a sister Chinook Unit lost a CH-47C when an O-1 swung up under the forward rotor blades....missed them....but then swung up under the aft blades and did not miss....causing the Chinook to suffer a totally catastrophic deconstruction event at 3,000 feet above ground. I flew the recovery of the wreckage and crew which was an all day job and was a very sad chore. The cause of the accident was the Chinook crew went way too fast and despite radio calls from the Huey Recovery Crew Pilots did not slow down before the airplane collided with the rotor blades. Six crew members died in the crash.
Hueys usually were very docile sling loads but Huey Cobras without a drag chute and swivel between it and the Cobra was a completely story.
For training loads we used to have Lockheed T-33's and F-102's which rode really nice.
A very religious experience could be had when the 4x4 timbers strapped to the top of the wings as Spoilers suffered an asymmetric loss when one of them escaped its lashing causing a really crazy kind of oscillations that started in an instant as the timber departed. Having one of the critters poke its nose up in front of the helicopter as it waved around flashing a wingtip in front of the gunners on either side got your attention in a jiffy. That was immediately followed by at the announcement of "Bombs Away! Let's go home!". When hauling airplanes we never put the Cargo Hook Switch on "Safe" and our unit SOP was for the FE who was monitoring the load continuously kept his thumb over the Jettison Button or his hand on the mechanical jettison lever...as the lever was quicker opening than the electrical release.
Sad story however, a sister Chinook Unit lost a CH-47C when an O-1 swung up under the forward rotor blades....missed them....but then swung up under the aft blades and did not miss....causing the Chinook to suffer a totally catastrophic deconstruction event at 3,000 feet above ground. I flew the recovery of the wreckage and crew which was an all day job and was a very sad chore. The cause of the accident was the Chinook crew went way too fast and despite radio calls from the Huey Recovery Crew Pilots did not slow down before the airplane collided with the rotor blades. Six crew members died in the crash.
Hueys usually were very docile sling loads but Huey Cobras without a drag chute and swivel between it and the Cobra was a completely story.
For training loads we used to have Lockheed T-33's and F-102's which rode really nice.
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From: Hedge
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: On the big blue planet
The only total loss of a German Navy Sea King within 50 years of operation was an airdrop from a German Army CH-53 short after departing the island Helgoland in the German Bight.
skadi
skadi
Last edited by Pilot DAR; 16th October 2025 at 13:34. Reason: typo
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From: At home
Indian Airforce drops a Koala lifted from Kedarnath at 12000ft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPvgFqMTZqM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPvgFqMTZqM
