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Newlywed Helo Crash in Texas
A fatal crash for the couple and pilot as they depart the evening's festivities. The helo was N416WT, a Bell 206B registered to the groom's family construction business.
Newlyweds killed in helicopter crash while departing wedding ceremony, report says Will Byler, Bailee Byler, helicopter pilot died in crash, Houstonian reports By Mariah Medina - Digital JournalistPosted: 3:01 PM, November 04, 2018 Updated: 4:40 AM, November 05, 2018 UVALDE, Texas - A newlywed couple leaving their wedding ceremony in a helicopter died early Sunday morning when the helicopter crashed, according to a report from the Houstonian. Will Byler, his wife, Bailee Ackerman Byler, and their pilot died in the crash, according to the Houstonian, the student newspaper for Sam Houston State University. The newspaper reported that the Bylers were both in their senior year at the university. Eric Smith, a friend of the Ackerman family, posted to Facebook early Sunday morning that the couple and the helicopter pilot had died in the crash after the ceremony. Jacob Martinez, an individual working the event, shared video of the moment the couple took off in the helicopter. The Uvalde County Sheriff's Office said it received a call from an aviation monitoring center about a possible downed aircraft in northwest Uvalde around midnight. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, game wardens, Border Patrol agents, the Uvalde Volunteer Fire Department and Uvalde Emergency Medical Services arrived in the area of Chalk Bluff Park off of Highway 55 to help search for the helicopter. Authorities located the crashed helicopter around daybreak, the Sheriff's Office said. The San Antonio Fire Department deployed 10 members of its Technical Rescue Team to assist the Federal Aviation Administration with the investigation, but they returned to San Antonio Sunday night. NTSB said in a tweet Sunday morning that the helicopter involved is a Bell 206B.Officials with the NTSB said they would not release any information about the crash until Monday. Pictures and video in the link: https://www.ksat.com/news/ntsb-inves...rash-in-uvalde |
How sad. Apparently a family-owned helicopter taking off from the family ranch; you would think that would be safe.
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Not many visual queues out there for night flying.
Im a fixed wing pilot primarily, currently doing PPLH; is a night rating applicable for heli pilots? Is it part of an IR or a standalone ticket? |
Originally Posted by 2016parks
(Post 10302496)
...a family-owned helicopter taking off from the family ranch; you would think that would be safe.
,...darker than ****! |
What kind night vision recovery time would be required after sitting in that high-intensity spotlighting so they could film the departure? Seems awfully intense for a pilot to then make an immediate departure into the rural night.
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Originally Posted by patagonia1
(Post 10302511)
currently doing PPLH; is a night rating applicable for heli pilots? Is it part of an IR or a standalone ticket?
FAA PPL(H) syllabus includes some night training and 3hrs night dual which gives you night VFR privileges. EASA PPL(H) does not and requires a separate Night Rating for which the prerequisites for the training are 100hrs heli post license issue and 60hrs heli PIC - so not something you can do during your initial training. That said, there is night VFR and flying in total blackness which are different types of flying. I’d give the latter a miss. |
Very very tragic.
Usual Q's, I guess: Was the cab stabilised? Was the pilot qualified AND current to fly at night? What was the Wx? |
Guys, this was FAA-land. No such thing as night qualified (everyone is, except LSA). And night currency to carry passengers requires no more than 3 times round the pattern at night in the last 90 days. Most airports are pretty well lit. If this was deep-dark then i might as well be IMc (how would you even know whether it was? - maybe from the reflection of the lights but that's about it). Assuming the pilot was a CPL then even if he wasn't instrument rated, he would have 3 hours of hood time. But how recently?
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NTSB just finished a press briefing which I largely missed because I'm at the airport. In what little I did see, they said there was little or no fire, but dispelled notions of fuel exhaustion by saying there was a smell of fuel present and "crashes don't always result in fires." Apparently the aircraft went down only a mile or so from the takeoff point but it took them until daybreak to discover it after it had been reported as possibly down by a "aviation monitoring center."
A bit more at Kathryn's Report. |
I flew EMS out of San Antonio and we made very frequent trips to Uvalde area as we did lots of accident scene work as well as the usual hospital transfer business.
Trust me....it gets very dark outside of the towns as some Ranches out that way are larger than most UK Counties. When doing VFR flights at night which were quite common....I tended to follow the highways for a bit of surface light reference rather than rely upon instruments in the really dark areas. Add in some haze....and it could get interesting quick. West of Uvalde....the World ends until you get to Del Rio. I have taken off from Del Rio at 3AM....on a Gin clear night....and have seen the glow of the lights of San Antonio after just a few minutes in cruise. A Jet Ranger at night in that terrain....at almost 2AM....having taken off with the bright spotlights shining in your face as you departed....that is a very bad combination. Such a tragic loss to the families of the newly weds and the pilot. |
Something about helicopters and weddings that seemingly often don't end well.
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The way he leaves the ranch seems to indicate he wasn't comfortable with this night departure - instead of going vertical and transitioning to a safe climb, he meanders across the trees with absolutely no options if the donkey stops, barely gaining height.
If he continued in the same manner into complete darkness, it is no wonder this tragic accident occurred. |
The pilot has been variously identified in local media reports:
Gerald Green: The Pilot Gerald Green, 76, was a captain in the Army and fought in Vietnam. Green's, stepdaughter told Eyewitness News that he had been a private pilot for the Byler family for about 20 years. The father of five, including two stepdaughters, was recently married in April. He was described as a lively man who was very active, smart and funny. "He loved to just sit there and banter with you. It was never a dull moment with our dad. He is a great man," Greens, stepdaughter Amilyn Willard said. "He had a great impact on everyone he met." The same site elsewhere gives the name as Gerald Green Lawrence: Gerald Green Lawrence has been identified as the pilot in the helicopter crash that killed 2 newlyweds near Uvalde, Texas, just an hour and a half after the wedding. https://abc13.com/4618311/?sf201567478=1 Another local news report gives the pilot's name as Gerald Douglas Lawrence: Officials have identified the pilot of the helicopter that crashed early Sunday in rural Uvalde County, killing two newlyweds on the way to their honeymoon. Gerald Douglas Lawrence, 76, who was also killed in the crash, was taking the groom and bride, William Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler, both 24, to a local airport, where they would fly to their honeymoon location, according to Judge Steve Kennedy, Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1 in Uvalde County. A possible hit in the FAA pilot database (but without a BH-206 type rating): Personal Information GERALD DOUGLAS LAWRENCE
1335 SERENE TRL TOMBALL TX 77375-4191 County: HARRIS Country: USA Medical Information: Medical Class: Second Medical Date: 3/2018 MUST WEAR CORRECTIVE LENSES. BasicMed Course Date: None BasicMed CMEC Date: None Certificates AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR Certificates Description Certificate: AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT Date of Issue: 6/14/2010 Ratings: AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT ROTORCRAFT-HELICOPTER COMMERCIAL PRIVILEGES AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND AIRPLANE MULTIENGINE LAND INSTRUMENT AIRPLANE Type Ratings: A/BH-14ST A/BH-222 A/EN-28 C/DC-3 Limits: ENGLISH PROFICIENT. BH-222 (VFR ONLY). |
I'm curious why BH-222 would be listed as VFR only when the pilot had an ATP.
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Apparently a family-owned helicopter taking off from the family ranch; you would think that would be safe. |
"He had a great impact on everyone he met." Do you need a type rating for a 206? I didn't think so, it's under 12500 lbs. I'm curious why BH-222 would be listed as VFR only when the pilot had an ATP. |
Originally Posted by gulliBell
(Post 10302677)
I'm curious why BH-222 would be listed as VFR only when the pilot had an ATP.
(g) Aircraft not capable of instrument maneuvers and procedures. An applicant may add a type rating to an airline transport pilot certificate with an aircraft that is not capable of the instrument maneuvers and procedures required on the practical test under the following circumstances--
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Originally Posted by n5296s
(Post 10302686)
Do you need a type rating for a 206? I didn't think so, it's under 12500 lbs.
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An update from the NTSB briefing held this afternoon:
NTSB: Pilot in Uvalde helicopter crash that killed newlyweds 'very experienced'The priority for now is to recover the wreckage from its current location in Uvalde before examining it further. Author: David Lynch Published: 4:02 PM CST November 5, 2018 Updated: 4:33 PM CST November 5, 2018 UVALDE — Two days after a weekend helicopter crash killed a newlywed couple about 80 miles west of San Antonio, federal transportation safety investigators say the “precarious” site of the crash has prevented them from conducting a thorough initial examination. Craig Hatch, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said on Monday afternoon that their priority at the start of the week was recovering the helicopter from its current site—on the side of a hill in Uvalde, a few miles from State Road 55. “Because of how it’s laid out on the side of the hill, we’re not really able to go into the helicopter,” he said, adding that debris was scattered over about 100 yards. Typically, investigators would document and examine a crash site as much as they can before altering anything, similar to a crime scene. However, Hatch said that’s nearly impossible to do in a way where they don’t “come tumbling down the side of the hill as well.” According to The Houstonian, a student-run newspaper at Sam Houston State University, Will Byler and Bailee Ackerman Byler were aboard the helicopter after getting married earlier on Saturday evening. Around midnight, first responders in the area were notified of a possible downed aircraft. “We definitely saw a helicopter in a terrible state,” said Texas Game Warden Rachel Kellner, who was one of the first responders on the scene, adding that there was little they could do immediately without any daylight. After recovering the wreckage from the site, NTSB plans to conduct a detailed inspection “at a later time.” Hatch said that it typically takes at least a year for a final accident report to be released, in which the probable cause is specified. Usually, he says, a preliminary report is published about two weeks after the investigation begins. It’s also too early to tell whether weather played any substantial role in the crash. The investigator added that, along with examining the aircraft involved in incidents such as these, the NTSB also investigates the pilot’s flying history. In this instance, Hatch said the 74-year-old pilot was “very experienced (and) highly qualified,” adding he believed he had logged about 24,000 hours. https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/ntsb-pilot-in-uvalde-helicopter-crash-that-killed-newlyweds-very-experienced/273-611451370 It is reported that the wreckage was found on the side of Park Chalk Bluff, a hill northwest of Uvalde. |
There was a time when it was possible to have an ATP License for Rotocraft in the USA that was limited to VFR. That has gone by the boards and now the ATP License requires the Intrument portion as an integral part of the License. We do have a Commercial Licence and a separate Instrument rating but the ATP includes the equivalent of the instrument rating. The end result is the same as in the UK. We view “Type Ratings” very differently than does the UK. We don’t have as many bureaucrats to feed as ya’ll do......yet! |
And why is BH-222 a type rating on an FAA pilot certificate anyway?
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As SAS said, that area is pretty rough if you cannot get lighting at night. |
Has to do with the ATP Practical Test being a Type Rating....all very confusing. If I dug my License out....the old one.....it would probably show Bell 47 or Bell 206 or both....with the 47 being VFR only. |
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: At approx. 12 midnight on Saturday (11/3/18), Uvalde Police Communications received a call from an aviation monitoring center of a possible down aircraft in the area of Northwest Uvalde County. After further investigation, Uvalde Co. Sheriff’s Office Deputies received coordinates of a possible more direct location of the aircraft in distress. TX DPS Troopers, Game Wardens, Border Patrol, Uvalde Vol. Fire Dept, and Uvalde EMS arrived in the vicinity of Chalk Bluff Park off HWY 55 to assist with the search. Upon break of day, the accident location was found and the Texas Dept. of Public Safety and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the scene. 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
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Originally Posted by Airbubba
(Post 10302774)
An 'aviation monitoring center'? What would that be? .
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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. |
Originally Posted by wrench1
(Post 10302794)
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.
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. |
Something about helicopters and weddings that seemingly often don't end well. |
Originally Posted by Pilot DAR
(Post 10302832)
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.
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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?
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I parked my plane in the middle of my runway to prevent any use of the runway for a few days. |
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? |
Originally Posted by Thomas coupling
(Post 10303226)
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?? I can’t think of a better way to persuade people to stay fit and well, than to allow them to continue doing a job they enjoy rather than making them age-redundant. |
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. |
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