In Spain you can not overfly towns of more than 50K Inh. with a single engine helicopter :=


according to air traffic regulations in Spain (R.C.A.):
5.1.7. Overflight of urban areas.
Shall not fly over urban areas of over 50,000 inhabitants helicópters equipped with only one engine, except in emergency evacuation missions and medical transportation, if
justified.

Nobody died. Good news. :ok:




Now let's criticize the pilot.

SOP. :rolleyes:

Reports say that they had just taken off from the local airfield.

Mickjoebill

Your uninformed comments
 

farmpilot states, "Work on 45kgs on the nose and another 20 or so in the back.

This aircraft was well over max weight, if the reports are correct......
"
_________________________________________________________
But the initial reports never are correct!

Anyway, what would GTOW that have to do with root cause of this crash?

We older fellows have learned not to beak off until all of the information is in.

Really? As already said, what is it here that induces posters to spout off as if the investigation is a done deal, and the pilot is guilty until proven innocent? 3 pax + cineflex + floats on an 820 (?) kg machine shouldn't break the bank, even with an hour's fuel :=

How about a bit of :D for the pilot getting it down such that the passengers and himself received only minor injuries?

I agree with JE - that's why I said Kudos to the pilot in post #19.

I couldn't have done better if faced with force landing a Jetty in a back alley.

Right on, John.

On another subject, I have recently learned that you too were an employee of the big orange.

That would would make us cohorts, I reckon.

I only did one tour in Juhu - 212, 76 & 61.

Most of my time was in the Canadian Arctic or the East Coast of Canada.

The orange 204, 205, 206, 212, 214ST, 58, 61, and 76's bring back lots of memories!

I totally agree with reverse flight!

Bent tin we can always fix!

Kudos to the driver!

While I am really happy that there were no fatalities, I would not congratulate the pilot so fast until the investigation of this accident is completed.
The fact that he didn't kill any innocent people on that Village was simply pure luck and this incident could have turned out in tragedy.

The regulations are very specific regarding the "operations" over congested areas for single engine helicopters and that seems to have been ignored.
It is a fact repeated by some national and foreing operators here with the complacency of the Spanish Civil Aviation, that as long you fill up their desks with useless paperwork (Which they honestly belive it is enough to ensure 120% safety), they are happy.

Common sense, indcates that you must fly in such a profile that in case of an engine failure you must be able to land or autorrotate to a clear area.

Probably in several years we will get the accident report from the Spanish Civil Aviation Investigation Comision (We do not do that any faster) :ugh:

On the meantime, in our "Excellent safety enviroment" :{ well documented and camuflaged with tones of papers, documents and absurd burocracy and with 10000 burocrats just talking about helicopter safety while having coffe, but never ever going to the field just to verify it, we just had another fatal helicopter accident yesterday night, where a bell 412 crashed killing all 3 onboard on the same region of Spain.
Our helicopter accident statistics are world record. :\
So far in the last 12 months we have had several helicopter accidents with quite a number of fatalities.

Spanish regulations and (lack of) enforcement.
 

I am in agreement with Furia.

I have never travelled in a helicopter and do not plan to. Anywhere. Ever.

I do however fly through Spanish airspace regularly on commercial flights.

I have no direct knowledge of what the pilot and the ATC are up to but I have seen enough here on these threads to worry me, such as the very recent thread within ATC about Spanish ATC where the issue of Spaniards favouring Spaniards got everybody going [including some of my fellow Brits, pilots at that, who contributed at length !] whereas the core issue raised by the OP of improving SAFETY didn´t get off the ground (sic).

I have seen other elements of Spanish government bureaucracy close up professionally and the idea expressed by Furia that they say "fill in all the paperwork in triplicate with photos of everyone including the tea-boy and then do as you see fit on the ground/ in the air(?) because we are far too busy and important to leave the office to have a look" is one which I can endorse. In spades.

Words fail me.

Big Frank.

I'm relieved to hear you say that you will never ever fly in a helicopter because now i don't have to worry about you every getting into one of mine!

As for the accident - looks like the pilot pulled off a pretty good job in bad circumstances, but you have to ask yourself why he was there in the first place.

Glad no-one was hurt - could have been different though.

OH

Does the battery get relocated when you have a nose mounted camera?

Yes, by the fire crew after the crash.

It may be legal but the setup compromises the shots for sub 1000ft AGL aerials. Main factor is need for higher forward speed just to stay airborn and also less shot choice going downwind for same reason.

Local reports say they were going Jerez to Malaga approx 100 miles.

In respect to an emergency, would anyone care to put a number on the difference in auto rotation and glide performance, if any, with 120kg less on board?


Mickjoebill

I like the statement "I will never travel with a helicopter, ever". Those are precisely the folks who step in a car every day and expose themselves to a higher risk. Enough of that.

Fact is, that pilot did a fantastic job and walked away. Question though; what if it would have been a twin?

We have to remember that we as pilots always have to be the extra ounce careful when conducting those filming operations. :ok:

The battery is still there, visible in the first photo of this thread.

Is it not painfully obvious the reason the aircraft is on it's side is because the pilot did not deploy the floats?

I mean any fool knows when landing in foam you need to deploy the floats.

That was at least a few inches of foam...

I mean, they could have drowned....
:O

How do you know he did a fantastic job?
Looks like he was coming from camera right, over the block of land by the street corner @1.26



Here is some seriously low aerial filming over the same location, aircraft type unknown and not necessarily connected with this incident in any way.
Hope they were in a twin....






Mickjoebill

Is the Pilot mad???? likely he will be prosecuted for proceeding the wrong way along a one-way street. £60 fine and 3 points on your license here in UK!

And I am not sure the fireman's uniform (about 45 seconds in) would work here. OK, the shorts are the right colour but today it is cold enough to require a shirt (at least).

I have just learned that this operation was conducted inside a military restricted airspace (LER-72) so apparently they were not only overflying at low leve a urban area with a single engine helicopter but they were inside a restricted area.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6170/...bbb682b4_b.jpg