And why is BH-222 a type rating on an FAA pilot certificate anyway?

Video of the NTSB presser today at the bottom of this page:

https://www.ksat.com/news/ntsb-terra...on-challenging

From the Uvalde Police Facebook page:


An 'aviation monitoring center'? What would that be? These aircraft are not dispatched I would think. The NTSB investigator said in the video above that he thought the ELT was at the crash scene and broken. He seemed to imply that no signal was received.

Such a tragedy...Rest in Peace

A number of private owners use flight-tracking software like Spider Tracks or Garmin InReach. Some pay to have it monitored . Or some monitor it themselves. A very tragic event.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1059485036028850178

I've flown out there at night, but not close to the ground. It's as SASless says.
A friend of mine had his daughter and new son in law flown from her wedding in a Huey, a few years back, in Houston.
At 4 in the afternoon.
Doing this at midnight?
Hmm.
RIP; I hope you never knew what you hit.

Thanks, that probably explains a couple of early news reports that the pilot made a call to 911 to report problems before the crash. Sounds hokey but it was probably the call from the tracking center to the police emergency line that generated the 911 report.

Also a news report listed the emergency call to Uvalde Police around midnight but said the crash was at 1:57 am. Usual confusion with breaking news I suppose. Some millennial wedding receptions I've been to in recent years are over by 10 pm but others turn up the volume at 11 pm to chase out the old folks and party well into the wee hours of the morning.

It appears that the family didn't know that their aircraft had crashed until in the morning when nobody called.

I've had the same thought myself. When my daughter was married here at home years back, I parked my plane in the middle of my runway to prevent any use of the runway for a few days. I did not want my daughter's wedding to be memorable because of an aviation event. There are times to fly, and there are times for family, they don't have to mix - family should always prevail.

Inevitably they aren't planned well, operated by someone trying to help out under pressure of not ruining the special day.

So, an elderly pilot (experienced but elderly) flying from brightly lit area into almost total darkness at the body's circadian low point - what could possibly go wrong with that plan?

Don't we all......

Crab,

Please show some respect for your Elders here!

But....exactly as you say....I just hit 70....and consider myself an Old Fart.

I always had excellent vision except for a Red/Green issue that caused a problem on two occasions during Medicals well after becoming an experienced pilot.

I thought about the Bright Light to DARKNESS in a Jet Ranger thing last night while sitting on my Porch looking across the bay to the lights on the other side.

I considered what it might look like peering out of the Wind Screen of that Jet Ranger if there were no lights on the other shore.

The Pilot was 75....well experienced....but his eyes had some normal wear and tear on them from all those years I am sure.

The average Jet Ranger is not an aircraft I would like to fly instruments in....especially in the middle of the night after a very long day.

How well it was equipped should be examined by the investigators among other issues.

The Human Factors issue in this tragedy surely needs examining closely.

There's a reason why commercial flights in the UK prevent single pilot ops beyond 60. I believe it is 65 in the USA?
The rules for private flights are much slacker, which is weird because the medical reasons for endex @ 60 commercially still affect those flying privately.???
Would I want my family pilot flying my children during the day (let alone at night) at the grand old age of 75??

There are a lot of Pilots of all ages I would never let my children ride with....in any situation.

Age itself is not the issue....but fitness is what counts.

The Nanny State mindset of Sixty and out ignores reality.

I lost my Medical at age 58.....and probably should have a bit earlier.

TC.....show us the Accident Stats that PROVE older pilots have a higher rate of involvement in accidents where their age/Incapacitation was the direct cause.

TC, only scheduled Pt.121 operations are affected by the age limit in the USA.
Unscheduled Pt.135 operations do not follow that rule and even less Part 91 operations like the one of this accident if I understand that the 206B was in fact the family's helicopter and "Jerry" had been flying them for over twenty years.

Gullibell, it used to be that whatever airframe you used for your FAA ATP ride would show on your certificate forever, mine says HU-269 back since '96.

how far away from the wedding was the crash?
If the crash happened in local vicinity, then I could relate to the bright lights off into the darkness concern....but i don't think it happened close at all. I would think the partiers would have heard/seen something. But then again perhaps they were all trailer trash drunk at that point.
Had they departed at 11pm or whenever, and the notifications went out at midnight, they could have been miles off into the darkness and surely your eyes have adjusted for that light difference in the beginning.

Can anyone explain how an aircraft owned by a company can operate outside that company's line of business (e.g. transporting employees to work sites) and give 'private' flights like this? Wouldn't that be a charter under an AOC?
Is it used like a company car and taxed as benefit in kind?

If you own your own helicopter...you can certainly fly your family in it as you wish.

Have you read any of the posts/news articles etc....before you posted that question?

The news report indicated the crash was fairly close to the Ranch (location of take off).

I would suggest this family is in no way "Trailer Trash".... own a helicopter long enough and you can become poor enough to qualify however.

Was there drinking there....knowing most Texas Ranchers....very likely....just as at mostt Weddings I would presume.