PPRuNe Forums

PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/)
-   Rotorheads (https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads-23/)
-   -   Yet Another Fatal Wirestrike (https://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/644211-yet-another-fatal-wirestrike.html)

Gordy 24th Dec 2021 16:24


Originally Posted by [email protected] (Post 11160593)
I got caught out that night,

I got it wrong

Say it isn't so..... tongue in cheek.......

Gordy 24th Dec 2021 20:16


Originally Posted by Bell_ringer (Post 11160344)
I still can't fathom why it isn't a legal requirement to use markers on spans like that.
You should try see and avoid on a zipline, even more exciting.

Yep----mostly planning permission....

And for those that do not know---this is how we put up marker balls for PG&E, incidentally this is the hangar sister to the one i hit the wires with--they are identical.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5d433fbc5a.jpg

blackdog7 27th Dec 2021 15:26

So just curious.....is that a single hook set up on the single engine helicopter with a human hanging off the end or is that a belly strap transforming the long dog into a poor utilities super HEC machine? I thought PG&E had a 145 for that type of work?

Gordy 27th Dec 2021 18:08


Originally Posted by blackdog7 (Post 11161389)
So just curious.....is that a single hook set up on the single engine helicopter with a human hanging off the end or is that a belly strap transforming the long dog into a poor utilities super HEC machine? I thought PG&E had a 145 for that type of work?

This is an old photo, it was a single hook with belly band. We now use the On-board double hook system.

PG&E only owns 4 Black Hawks and those are operated for them by a contractor... all other aircraft on property are contractor owned and operated. There are no 145's flying on property that I know of. There are two Bell 429's on contract, but they may or may not be used for HEC....90% of the HEC is conducted using Long Rangers or 407's and there may be a few 500's.

Nubian 27th Dec 2021 20:26


Originally Posted by Gordy (Post 11161427)
This is an old photo, it was a single hook with belly band. We now use the On-board double hook system.

PG&E only owns 4 Black Hawks and those are operated for them by a contractor... all other aircraft on property are contractor owned and operated. There are no 145's flying on property that I know of. There are two Bell 429's on contract, but they may or may not be used for HEC....90% of the HEC is conducted using Long Rangers or 407's and there may be a few 500's.

Think it should be SDG&E, not PG&E. Operated by Helistream

Gordy 27th Dec 2021 22:05


Originally Posted by Nubian (Post 11161454)
Think it should be SDG&E, not PG&E. Operated by Helistream

Yep, they might have some. SoCal Edison is still with Astars I believe and WAPA is 407's but heard a rumor they are getting 429's.

FH1100 Pilot 28th Dec 2021 13:55


Originally Posted by Vortexringshark (Post 11160179)
Your last paragraph shows the attitude that will keep killing helicopter pilots. I get that we operate differently to fixed wing around weather. This is because we can slow down or land as it turns crap. They can't therefore have higher mins. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have any minima.

Your story reads like you were hover taxiing at or below tree top height in cloud just to drop a dude at his hunting spot. You said yourself it was tense but I get the feeling you would do it again. Just because we CAN do that doesn't mean we SHOULD do it. Had you been on a rescue then yeah maybe that's worth it but in your case the juice ain't worth the squeeze.
I do want to note that I have never faced the commercial pressure that does appear to be the main issue

First, I never said that I was *below* the tops of the trees. Nor was I hovering. Those are your incorrect assumptions. (You should try being a commercial helicopter pilot sometime. Then you might have some basis for posting on a helicopter forum.) Secondly, your "feeling" about whether I would do something is particularly irrelevant and nonsensical. The POINT is that helicopter flying is not as "black and white" as some people fantasize it should be.

FIGJAM? Nah. Sometimes it's FILJAM. Sometimes we're just lucky. And over the course of 35 years of doing this for money, I have occasionally been luckier than I deserved.

But also, sometimes we're good.

[email protected] 28th Dec 2021 14:19

Dancing on the head of a pin FH1100?

All was good until we got to that high point, where the clouds were down in the trees. I slowed down and got down over a lightly traveled country road. I won't lie, it was tense, and I'm sure that the few car drivers we encountered thought we were crazy. After what seemed like an eternity, the ground fell away and gave us some clearance between it and the clouds. We continued on to the hunting camp.
So you were hovertaxiing in cloud along a road at a height low enough to alarm car drivers - unless I am missing something.

You say you were lucky but you got away with it and it certainly sounds like you would do it again - that is exactly the mentality that leads to accidents like New Orleans and so many others.

PS being lucky and getting away with it doesn't make you 'good'.


And a lot of times, we fly in weather conditions that keep our fixed-wing brethren cowering like scared little girls in pilot lounges all across the nation,
And that comment says everything about a machismo attitude to aviation that causes accidents

Gordy 28th Dec 2021 15:57


Originally Posted by [email protected] (Post 11161717)
PS being lucky and getting away with it doesn't make you 'good'.

And that comment says everything about a machismo attitude to aviation that causes accidents

Agreed..... This is classic "Normalization of Deviance". I'll let those who still think they can fly low level in clouds and think it is normal etc Google that......

Dog on Cat3 28th Dec 2021 18:23

Blame is for the weak
 

Originally Posted by Robbiee (Post 11159208)
I'm confused Chuck. If the pilot is not to blame for such an accident then who is? :ooh:

I believe, Robbiee, that the higher, wider, more broad point the man was making - the one you may have perceived as a rush of wind just above you head - can be summed up thus: "Blame is for the weak"

Bell_ringer 29th Dec 2021 06:23


Originally Posted by Dog on Cat3 (Post 11161820)
"Blame is for the weak"

That's also the philosophy used when pilots refuse to take responsibility for their lack of good judgment.
It's too easy to shrug the shoulders and chalk it up to **** happens, half the reason the same accidents still happen as often as they do.

In aviation, blame should be avoided to encourage transparency, this only works in professional outfits with a professional culture.
In the civil world, once the lawyers are unleashed, it is entirely about blame - because accidents don't create themselves, and someone must pay.
So don't delude yourself about blame.
It is the weak who think they will never be blamed for the consequences of their actions.

Robbiee 29th Dec 2021 15:02


Originally Posted by Dog on Cat3 (Post 11161820)
I believe, Robbiee, that the higher, wider, more broad point the man was making - the one you may have perceived as a rush of wind just above you head - can be summed up thus: "Blame is for the weak"

Really?...'cause it read more like Chuck was saying that as long as you praise a pilot for all the times he pokes the bear and gets away with it, you can berate him for that one time he doesn't.

,...but how about we cut the crap, and just start taking responsibility for the situations we put ourselves into? :rolleyes:

helonorth 29th Dec 2021 15:21


Originally Posted by FH1100 Pilot (Post 11159869)

.



And a lot of times, we fly in weather conditions that keep our fixed-wing brethren cowering like scared little girls in pilot lounges all across the nation, gazing out the window and going, "It's 900 and 2.5 out there.

It's hard to believe he's ever been involved in aviation in any capacity. My eyes rolled so far back I could see my spine.


All times are GMT. The time now is 16:45.


Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.