It only seems to us passengers do things crazy because we know the dangers. They do not or they often forget. It is unlikely we’ll ever know why he went towards the tail rotor but from the reports so far it would be unlikely it was for a selfie. If anything can be guessed at, it could have been that he possibly went back to take a photo of his parents landing in the second helicopter or to watch them.
A young man lost his life tragically. One day his family and friends might read some of the posts on here. Please show a bit of respect.

I remember reading the story of a crewman that stepped backwards through the spinning prop of a WW2 bomber.
It was only after he realised what he had done did he faint.

I had the privilege to get access the the Arizona Air National Guard ramp in 98. No safety instructions. I was just told to give priority to aircraft and stay within the lines on the ramp.
Had several helo's taxi next to me while I got some nice pictures. I used common sense and respected the environment. Wouldn't happen now.

Everyone blaming this person but shouldn't aircraft be shut down before embarking, disembarking?

If its a tour operation there should be ground crew to let pax out and escort them away. Any other operation? You're probably on your own.

Just reported on ITV NEWS. The helicopter had 2 propellers, one was STOPPED , the other still TURNING!!! Obviously a unique helicopter. Journalism at its best , with ZERO mechanical Knowledge. !!

Calling a 22 year old a ‘school boy’ seems a little odd.
Its a shame a lack of common sense cost a life but it is what it is.
Drugs and/or alcohol involved maybe?

The most sensible comment here. A life lost and a lot of people seriously traumatised by what happened.

Concur it's an awful tragedy and demands more sensitivity by previous posters. In addition, only the Mail can start the opening dialogue explaining how much the school he went to 3+ years ago cost per annum in fees as if it's relevant......

It just goes to show that anyone can have a bad day. Sometimes you are lucky and get away with it to become older and a little wiser. Other times, you don't.
Condolences to the family and sympathy to the crew who will now go through the wringer.

UXB 99, from my albeit limited experience in the offshore industry they always have the rotors running when loading and offloading passengers.
I was told it was due to aircraft stability being low on start up and shutdown.

One of a helicopter pilot's worst nightmares.

How very sad that a young man could lose his life like this, regardless of who is at fault.

It may be he's part of the "selfie brigade", it may be that the operation somehow is at fault and he was totally blameless, either way it's not a good thing, for his family, friends, the pilot and ground crew or our industry.

I work in a bit of the industry where dark humour is the norm, but some of our "fellow" posters on PPRuNe and other social media perhaps should think before they post every once in a while.

The mainstream media, should still be ashamed of themselves, proves once again they cannot often be trusted to report on anything involving aviation.

Oman
 

It was a bit longer than a month Ant - Your Dad even gave the briefing in French to ensure there was no misunderstanding!

This is in extremely poor taste and quite sick if I've to be honest. I'm shocked the mods haven't removed this whereas I've had plenty of totally normal posts removed.

Which helipad was it? If it’s the one I’m thinking of then my experience there wasn’t so great when I dropped in a couple months ago.

This is why Fenestron should be mandatory for all rotors.

Why don't they fit safety guards around the tail fan to prevent such accidents? Helicopters often embark/disembark passengers with rotors revolving so are a greater risk to passengesr than most fixed wing aircraft.

Advantages:
Increased safety for people on the ground because the enclosure provides peripheral protection;[5][18]

And a similar arrangement for all fixed wing props? Generally closer to the ingress/egress route than a tail rotor.

This one is operated by the company that runs/ owns the 407, 2 NM West of Venizelos. Fenced in, guarded, has a lounge for customers, refueling etc. plenty of space. Usually they don't let "non company aircraft" aircraft land there. It's usually only used by company aircraft, much cheaper and more efficient/ easier to operate in and out of than Venizelos. I flew there in 2019, good company, professionally run.

There's half a dozen "helipads" around Athens, some are official ones with proper markings, clearances etc. Some are just round concrete circles in the middle of a field or next to a parking lot.

A real tragedy this is

Absolutely right olster . Most posts on this thread made observations/conclusions based on questionable information, blamed the deceased's background/age/etc. Just such poor taste

Read multiple reports from different sources and you find that the statement issued by the head of AAIASB (Greek accident investigators), is completely denied by one of the other passengers who witnessed what went on. We have no way to know which one is wrong or whether both are wrong - but they can't both be right. This means that ALL press reports should be ignored

All we know is that a Brit aged 22 has tragically died and it involved a tail rotor on a 407. Have some sympathy for his relatives and friends. (full disclosure - none known to me)

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No, it shouldn't! We don't need yet more regulation just to protect people who cannot be bothered to pay attention to their surroundings.

They put safety barriers in front of railroad crossings, yet people still insist on going around them to get run over by a train.