really bad day in Alaska - Troopers 350 crash
 

You could say that...:(

Not that I want to set off a fire storm; but "we got rid of the Bell Ranger because of proneness to icing..." BULL****!!! And does one think the Squirrel is not prone to icing when flown in such conditions? And now I stop to write!!!

Night, bad weather, few if any ground lights, lots of snow, Single Pilot, Non-Stabilized Helicopter, no Autopilot....where have we heard that recipe before?

These variables do not favor a safe flight...

Irrespective of the training, skill, experience of the pilot. :(

Very sad and probably avoidable, but the desire to do good often outweighs common sense. :(

For example

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2011/AAR1104.pdf

Ring any bells?

Shy Torque,
Sometimes the skill,experience and training act as a double edged sword and work against sound decision making.
Nevertheless, rather than judge the man from the comfort of my home, I will give him the respect he deserves.He put all his experience and skill on the line to gamble on saving a life and, unfortunately,came up short.But for the grace of God, there go I.
Condolences to the family and RIP to those on board.:(
As usual the talking heads are having a field day.Always bugs me when people say " at this point we will not speculate".Is there any point in time or space which is good for speculation????


Alt3.

I don't want to judge the pilot nor do I want to speculate on the circumstances how this "turkey" impacted the ground... But was that stunt necessary? Couldn't have a team with snowmobiles picked up the injured snowmobiler?

Yes, often just before accepting the mission. Or reluctantly turning it down.

Trooper crash
 

The trooper/pilot who died had been Dir of Ops for Transalaska Helicopters in Alaska for over 20 years. Great pilot, even better friend