The pilot concerned is, as previously stated, a well known and highly professional individual. He is also a good friend of many other pilots. Thank God he has survived such a catastrophic event. I'm sure his knowledge and experiance, as well as his aviator attitude stood him well. The AAIU, will I'm sure, do their usual 'good job' and we'll all be much the wiser upon receipt of their investigations. Wishing the pilot and his family all the best. Well done:ok:

I echo your statement HP and very well said, :D:D i wish him a speedy recovery.

I agree with Helimutt, it's not inconsiderate to say what he did, this is of course a rumour forum and his statement may have been misinterpreted due to emotion. The pilot is experienced in the corporate flying world and probably flies pretty much nothing other than 109's nowadays so I'm sure that had some involvement in his escape from what appears to have been a close one.
All the best, get well soon,
H

Fletch, check your PM's.

One of the guys in Weston told me it was a tailrotor failure, don't know if it's true.........

Get well soon...
 

Just a short note to say get well soon J, all the staff here at Weston wish you a speedy recovery. :ok:

You are a true gentleman of the air, and a thorough professional, we look forward to your return to full health and of course flying...:D

EIWTZTZX

As a fellow power pilot I wish you a speedy recovery.

And if it was a TR failure you have my respect, its not the easiest aircraft to deal with it in, especially alone.

Get well soon


Gary S.

Yeah The man is a gent and a role model for some of us under 30 ihopers. All the best for the recovery.


Also I'd like to say far play to the Emergency services for his safe extraction to hospital. I wouldnt fancy being in an Ambulance in traffic. Not often we have an Air Evac here, Excellent stuff

I'm sure the snippets we're hearing now will be borne out by the findings of the AAIU - the man did a great job, best wishes for a speedy recovery to full health.

Nothing to do with emotion, more to do with respect for a fellow professional pilot. So if you had just survived a potentially fatal accident and were in hospital with serious injuries, and the best I could come up with was 'well you're not much of a pilot if it was your own fault' or words to that effect, what would you think? :yuk:

I think some people on here need to engage their brain before opening their mouth. Accidents like this can happen to the best of us, it's how you deal with it when happens to you that matters.

BC

I hope this is not another scissor link problem, as happened some years ago. Despite the design not conforming to UK certification requirements the scissor link can still be installed incorrectly. The CAA never issued any AD's concerning this, it appeared to be a complete cover up by all agencies concerned. :ugh:

yikes...that heli came out of of major maint check in the uk recently......... I hope the pilot makes a speedy recovery.....a respected pro. He's a lucky guy as the impact photos dont look pretty.

No, I don't think it's a cover up. I became aware of the problem some years ago, when I wasn't even flying the type. When I went to fly the 109 it was the first thing I asked the engineers about! You obviously haven't been made aware of:

Agusta BT 109EP-86
Agusta BT 109S -19

Issued by the factory. Both refer to mandatory action with regards to marking the scissor link components to aid correct re-installation.

Bladecrack, funnily enough I did just that. Not a crash in an aircraft, but in a previous job. All I got while I was lying in hospital for a few weeks was 'You can't be much of a manager if you had one of your staff stab you' WTF?!!!!

Probably must be true then I suppose, because that's how it felt at the time. Did it bother me when only I knew the truth? No, not at all. Couldn't give a toss about it to be honest.

If I ever pile in in a heli, I hope everyone on PPRuNe comes on here and discusses/dissects etc every and any possible scenario. You know why? Because it promotes discussion and it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Maybe just thicker skinned than some, and i'd be the first one to come on here and tell my side of it, in detail if requested, if I was able? :hmm:

ps, my post above edited out of respect.

Helimutt,

Fair enough, I have no problems with people learning from discussion about accidents, and if it can help prevent another one thats even better.

Luckily on this occasion the pilot involved survived, and will hopefully share his experience someday when fully recovered.

BC

I hope he makes a full recovery and maybe shares his experience with us so we can all learn. Especially the 109 drivers amongst us.

Don't know if you plan on attending any of the safety evenings arranged but they are ideal venues to discuss these sort of incidents without a public airing.


Cheers.

Discussing is definitely the way to go, it is a forum after all.

But, having known the pilot for a few years I have no doubt he did everything he could to bring the chopper down safely.

Get Well Soon J!

Update
 

Just been speaking to J's wife who asked to pass their appreciation of all the kind sentiments - John was mooved to the Matar Hosp' today where upon further examination was found to have a break 2 cm from the lower part of the spine, this has to be operated on Sunday morning with metal plates/rods being inserted in order to have any chance of supporting him. The hosp is giving no guarantees about the outcome! His wife has asked anyone planning to visit if they would leave it until after mid-week at the earliest, I'll keep you advised as I know more. As I'm sure you'll all agree our thoughts and prayers are with J and his family at this time.

Yes, good luck with his op; I hope he makes a speedy and full recovery.

Indeed fletch, thoughts and prayers are with john and his family at this time, hope he makes a speedy and full recovery and is back up doing what he does best..

Mate of mine informed me earlier he heard on the local news another heli came down somewere round galway city today, there was no more details about the crash.. Anybody hear anything on this?

Get well soon, John. We need some more of your craic!