Posted on 02/10/2018 9:57:05 PM PST by BenLurkin
[S]ix passengers and a pilot were on board the Papillon helicopter when it crashed about 5:20 p.m. The other four were injured and were still being treated at the scene.
...
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the Eurocopter EC130 crashed in unknown circumstances and sustained heavy damage.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Took a helicopter ride in Hawaii. Absolutely amazing.
Over the Grand Canyon of the Pacific on Kauai?
I rode a mule down once. At first I was trying to guide it, then I figured the thing probably doesn’t want to die anymore than I do, and I let it have it’s head heh.
It was a good trip, I’d do it again.
That and failure to maintaining proper pitch angle during the decent in order to avoid canyon walls.
Altitude and gross weight are important factors in autorotation. Altitude may have been too low for the aircraft that was at or near max gross for the altitude density to achieve enough autorotation to have the desired effect. I believe some autorotation was achieved as there were survivors. Helicopter crashes from the gray zone below which good autorotation can be achieved rarely yield survivors.
...just supposin, the critter decides
life ain’t worth living, and in a very
depress state, steps off.... sometime
within the rapidly increasing descent it changes it’s pebble size mind and pops his emergency shute and the above crowd breaks out
loud applause and laughter and those who missing it are already booking tickets for the next trip....and you are not,because you didn’t buckle up.
Listen Doogle, it’s a statistical fact that seat belts will either save you or kill you depending on physics. It’s about 50/50. You’re damned if you and damned if you don’t. In this case, I’m not strapping myself to a smelly critter, I’ll have to rely on the good ol tuck and roll.
hmmmm..tuck and roll at 237 mph over jagged rocky ledges...why didn’t I think of that?
I still hope to take lessons someday.
We tried the helicopter tour in Hawaii as well. Even with autorotation and elevation, in most of the Hawaiian canyon there are no good areas to touch down without power. I thought about it the entire tour and didn’t really enjoy the ride.
Helicopter ride on Maui scared the living daylights out of me. Small plane tour in Kauai was more to my liking.
Although I lived on Oahu, I’ve never set foot anywhere in the State of Hawaii.
1st visit was Maui and Oahu. Hated Honolulu and Wakiki. Enjoyed Kailua and the North Shore. 2nd and 4th visit was the Big Island. Loved the Kona area. 3rd was Kauai. Amazingly beautiful. Got to do some nice hiking and catamaraning along the NaPali coast. Won’t be going back so I’m glad I was able to visit several places
We lived in Kaneohe.
I doubt I’ll ever go back, it would ruin the riddle...
No such thing as *comfy* while riding one of those mules.
I hiked the Canyon about half way down when I was there many years ago and there's NO WAY I would ride a mule down those paths.
I went horse back for an hour later on that same vacation and could hardly walk for two days. I cannot even begin to imagine a whole day on one of those critters taking that trail.
A properly executed tuck and roll will always work.
A pilot will likely correct me, but when in the Army, I was on a UH-1 that auto rotated to a safe landing. My understanding was the aircraft needed enough altitude so the controlled fall would get the main rotor going fast enough to build inertia so when the ground was approaching pitch could be pulled to soften the landing, if not make a perfect landing. My recollection was the pilot made a combination auto rotation and running landing.
Point is, if this aircraft did not have enough altitude to begin with, or a relatively smooth area to land, it’s toast.
Interestingly enough, but considering the times we live in - not necessarily unreasonably, my first thought was “which past Clinton associate was aboard?”
If you mean Zarathustra, those who know, know, and those who don’t would need too long an explanation.
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