Posted on 04/12/2025 10:44:45 AM PDT by DallasBiff
April 11 (UPI) -- The South African Civil Aviation Authority said a low-altitude helicopter crash that didn't result in any injuries was caused by an unusual passenger famous for its lack of flight experience -- a penguin.
The SACAA's incident report said the pilot and three human passengers landed on Bird Island, off the Eastern Cape, on Jan. 19, and a passenger described as a "specialist" placed a penguin from the island in a cardboard box and brought it aboard the aircraft
"The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board," the report said.
The passenger riding in the front seat of the helicopter held the box containing the penguin on his lap, securing it with his hands, but he lost his grip just after take-off and the box slid into the pilot's cyclic pitch control lever.
The lever was pushed to the far-right position, causing the helicopter to roll to the right and strike the ground with its rotors.
The report said the helicopter, which landed on its side, "sustained serious damage, but no human or penguin passengers were harmed.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
“Before landing please secure all tray tables and penguins.” I know I’ve heard that a hundred times.
“Relax. It’s a joke.”
Jokes have punchlines.
Relax. I knew it was a bad attempt at a joke.
The punch line was: “unsecured penguin” as though it was a mechanical part.
Yesterday it was the helicopter’s “Jesus Nut.”
Today it’s the helicopter’s “Unsecured Penguin.”
So many ways a helicopter can crash.
Aviation Ping!................
Right next to the Jesus Nut.............
Has anyone seen Burgess Meredith lately?
Not since Grumpy Old Men......................
They will do that.
Yep :D
I’ve read that Danny DeVito was the best Penguin but I’m old school. I still think John Astin was the best Riddler.
Frank Gorshin.................
I distinctly remember the first time I heard of “The Jesus Nut”...I was on the USS JFK watching a guy with grease all over him working on the rotor of a Sea King. I mentioned to one of the guys below him that I had some misgivings about riding in a machine with such a complicated looking thing whirring above me, and and I asked what he was doing.
He said something like “Looking at the Jesus Nut”. I thought he was making a sacrilegious comment about the genitals of Christ, and said “Wha..tttt?”
When he saw the look on my face, and before I could ask, he said something like “It’s the big thing on top that holds everything in place, and if something goes wrong with it, you are going to say hello to Jesus.”
Now THAT is a piece of hardware every 19 year old mechanic will remember!
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