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He was formerly in the KDF, but that doesn’t mean he’s instrument rated even if at some time he did instrument flying. He was flying a civilian aircraft on a commercial contract. I doubt that he had a valid, or current IR. I’m also sure that Bell 505 was nit cleared for IFR flight.
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lots of accidents there, i looked up the linkl, and all the issues they have had
https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Willia...f9g/index.html |
Originally Posted by Phone Wind
(Post 10408016)
...the fact still remains that flight in non-IFR helicopters with non-instrument rated crews is illegal in Kenya and in hostile terrain like that at night, the chance of surviving a major failure is minimal If the flight rules did not permit night operations, and the pilot complied with that requirement, they would all still be alive. That is the simple truth of the matter. |
Not many hills here
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Not making assumptions, however if the pilot elected to break a golden rule it’s extremely disappointing! When will people ever learn? There was an accident in Australia a few years ago where a highly experienced pilot who was flying a helicopter for the ABC that crashed doing a similar activity. Experience is no excuse for blatant stupidity, not that I’m assuming this was the case in this accident. I’ve seen to many cases where pilots have broken the golden rules, VFR into IFR and idiots mucking around below LSALTs in IMC. I can also admit that I used to be one of those stupid idiots and was lucky enough to survive on multiple occasions and have learnt. I have had a few good friends killed doing exactly the same, hence I don’t tolerate this behaviour anymore. I’m one of the lucky ones as I have survived to tell the story, some haven’t. No excuses for breaking the golden rules under normal conditions in 2019, the pioneering days and elementary GPS days have long gone. Personal standards will only keep pilots safe, not rules and SOPs. |
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Personal standards will only keep pilots safe, not rules and SOPs. One must know one's own limitations....and learn to say "NO!", The toughest opponent to that concept is one's own self. The Rule might say you are legal and may do something....the decision to do it always remains with the Pilot behind the controls. The Rules say you may....but can you? |
Indeed, SAS. My predecessor as Chief Pilot at SA, Frank Tefft, offered this advice upon his retirement: “The most important attribute of a Chief Pilot is knowing what is safe to fly and what is not.” That applies, I think, to helicopter flight operations beyond those of the test/OEM community. |
News Update So the second aircraft is identified as an R44, probably flown by a junior pilot in the company. And we all know those things will crash just by looking cross-eyed at them. And yet it didn’t and instead the new flagship 505 flown by the 5500 hr Chief Pilot crashed. Which says what, conditions were ok for night VFR after all? The R44 is safer than a 505? Article has a few dead ends, like the navigation aids having any influence in these days of GPS. Was the mission to depart from the shoreline lodge of Lobolo in the dark, fly 10 miles over the flat Lake Tarkana to Central Island for a recce or landing, and then back to Lobolo? On a clear night certainly doable, and it was for the 44 guy. Maybe the R44 pilot had better night vision, unravaged by a lifetime of malaria. Ok, I’m grasping at straws here. |
Just going along with your hypothetical scenario...
The "junior pilot" was probably flying with his heart in his throat and thereby stayed alive through superior focus, determination and use of basic skills. Meanwhile it was all old hat to "chief pilot" and complacency got him. Yet another idea: the visibility was superior in the R44 cockpit because in the 505 cockpit those shining beacons of Garmin technology were reflecting off of the canopy like crazy and/or just plain old ****-canning whatever night vision the "chief pilot" had. |
Originally Posted by aa777888
(Post 10409682)
Yet another idea: the visibility was superior in the R44 cockpit because in the 505 cockpit those shining beacons of Garmin technology were reflecting off of the canopy like crazy and/or just plain old ****-canning whatever night vision the "chief pilot" had.
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Does the 505 have a cockpit video recorder of the last 30min like on all the Airbus helicopters
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Originally Posted by Flyting
(Post 10409739)
Does the 505 have a cockpit video recorder of the last 30min like on all the Airbus helicopters
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Couple of comments I heard from down that way was that it was very windy that evening and that winds were about 50-60 but they didn't elaborate if that was knots or mph.
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I wouldn’t put too much faith in anything I read in a Kenyan newspaper (or those from most countries, as reporting standards are very low these days). According to that report in the Daily Nation, Lobolo Camp is on Central Island, whilst in fact it’s on the southwest shore of Lake Turkana. Also, Kenyan police report 5 fatalities, the Kenyan pilot and 4 Americans (whose names have all been reported in numerous journals). What I have heard is that the 2 aircraft were shut down on Central Island as the passengers wanted to watch the sunset over the lake from there. However, around sunset the weather had deteriorated with strong winds (for which the area is well known) and they waited for a couple of hours to see if the weather would improve as they didn’t want to spend the night on the island (maybe they were brightened by the thought of the large number of Nile crocodiles in the Island lakes?) |
The wrecked helicopter in the picture doesn’t look like a 505... |
It’s 5Y-KDL, which is definitely a B505. |
Originally Posted by SuperF
(Post 10410185)
The wrecked helicopter in the picture doesn’t look like a 505... pic in post #4 or #26? For #4 you are right. skadi |
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