This happened yesterday in Guatemala
 

This happened in Guatemala yesterday,

A 16 y.o. boy that belonged to a very popular (in Latin America) singing group had just landed in a B407, and as he was getting out of the helicopter with his other group members he decided to wave to the crowd of fans that was waiting there for the group.

The result was 4 completely severed fingers, 500 screaming girls looking at the blood squirt out of his hand, and 4 other group members who inmediately went looking for the fingers that had landed in . . . . . . . . you guessed it, in the crowd of girls!

PS: Please don't start talking about legal implications to the pilot for not briefing passengers, we all know it should be done, but in this part of the world flying is just different, not so many rules.

Ouch!

So as far as waving to girls goes .... he's thrown his hand in then?

I See the 407 has FADEC Fully Articulated Digital Extremity Cutter.

Did they give the pilot The Finger?

I can't do a thing today - I'm all thumbs.

I guess he will now take up strumming the guitar....instead of picking !

Lucky he was a short arse........or he would be harmless....

Did the pilot get a tip?

Suppose he won't be as handy around the house as he once was.

Sick Puppies........

You guys are sick, this poor kid gets his fingers cut off, and you make jokes...

If this keeps happening, that kid is going to just be all thumbs...

I don't believe this. Even on low skids a 407, from ground to rotor disc, is over 10 feet. Unless this kid is over 7 feet tall then he still has all his fingers. And if he was standing on the step then all he'd get is fair old thump, nothing like you'd need to chop fingers off.

Its very likely he could have stood out of the door way and reached up.....

Update
 

Since the day before yesterday the kid has gotten the fingers reattached, initially only three had been so, but a fourth showed up on a roof bldg. Latest versions say he jumped as he waved, and the helicopter had just shut down the engine.

Still seems high but anything can happen, sloping ground, incorrectly positioned cyclic, etc.

A few years ago a pax was hit in the head by the rotor of a AS365 Dauphin, now that is high.

and one more...........o'h, so that's the mexican wave.

At least it stopped him picking his nose!

I wonder whether his music is recorded digitally?

Anyone for a celebratory high one?

He knew something went wrong, but just couldn't put his finger on it....

Pinkies
 

What about his career?

How will he make ends meat?

Reminds me of 2 semi-similar instances.

Don't recall where, but a 412 was taking off with a cabinful of Skydivers. Pilot did a pedal turn, and the tail rotor went right into a photographer snapping pictures of god knows what.

Second one comes from a friend of mine that was a lifer in the Marines. Back in the 70's-80's, he says a helo (unsure of type) brought in Santa Clause to a crowd of hundreds of young children. Helicopter landed, and as it shut down, the Santa came out, stood up on some form of the helicopter, and gave a big wave... off went the fingers and hand.

It boggles the mind as to how some people can reach the rotors on some of these aircraft. I still don't understand why non-trained people don't crouch as they approach hot helos like they did on MASH. Common sense, peoples...

Mike

TwinHueyMan wrote:



It wasn't quite that simple.

It happened on 2Aug2002 in Rantoul, Illinois, USA. Although the American NTSB report says that the photographer was struck by the tail rotor, it is not certain that it happened that way.

Think about the physics of it. How is any blade (tail rotor or otherwise) of a hovering 412 going to hit anyone on the ground?

It is well known and well publicized that the pilot of the 412 gave incomparable "thrill rides" to the skydivers. There were even some websites that had incriminating pictures (since taken down) of the pilot doing some outrageous things. Even the organizers' official website touted the thrill ride.

The pilot knew the photographer was there. He intentionally made his take-off run at him. Somehow, during his turn-about-a-photographer, one of the 412's blades struck and killed him. The pilot was hailed as a hero for getting the aircraft down safely(!) after the "accident." But this was no accident.

As upset as he must have been, the distraught pilot did the right thing...and continued flying skydivers for the rest of the weekend. What a guy.


We've all done "Santa drops." And we've all probably held our breath as Santa exited the ship. But we're not totally without recourse. Personally, I lean the cyclic away from the departing Santa.