Black Hawk's engines screaming, pilots swearing (video of Australian blackhawk crash)

The Australian ^ | 20th June 2007 | James Madden

[naturalman1975]

Video can be seen at link

[mad_as_he$$]

Ouch.

[Names Ash Housewares]

And THAT was survivable?

Damn.

[naturalman1975]

[metmom]

I think I’ll pass on that. I hate seeing something where I know somebody dies.

[Viking2002]

Not to make light of losing a couple of Aussie troopers, but I tripped over the gossip bench in my hallway the other night, and went just as ass-over-teakettle.

[Dumpster Baby]

Sounds like a mechanical or hydraulic failure in the rotor head caused the blades to lose pitch, the angle at which they bite into the air - no lift, less blade drag=higher rotation speed, no directional control, etc.

[mad_as_he$$]

I understand and concur. Too bad about the crew but helicopters are that way.

[Tinian]

Sounds like a mechanical or hydraulic failure in the rotor head caused the blades to lose pitch

I call pilot error. There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots. When you're a helicopter (or any kind of) pilot you're supposed to fly as if anything or everything could go wrong at any moment. This guy was hot-dogging it, thinking he could pull collective at the last minute and for some reason fell through. Helicopter hydraulics are double or triple redundant, BTW. I just showed the video to my Father, who spent 15 years flying U.S. Army helicopters, and his response was "kind of stupid".

[keat]

I call pilot error...

Not qualified to comment but that makes sense to me. I don't why he would come in that hot unless there was a compelling reason to do so.

btw, speaking of choppers, check this out.

[Grut]

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.

Well, here's a Lt. Col. flying(!) a BUF.

[Born to Conserve]

Does not look like human error to me. There was obviously a total loss of control. The early Blackhawks had a problem where radar interfered with the sensors indicating control surface position. Blackhawks and Apaches both would suddenly ditch. It was found that their own radar was bouncing off the ground, and causing the control surface actuator positional feedback circuits to malfunction. The actuator arm guides that contained the feedback sensors were replaced with fully shielded versions, fixing the problem.

With all those radars in the video, I wonder if something similar has happened here.

[buccaneer81]

btw, speaking of choppers, check this out.

Wow! That is amazing!

[VR-21]

Is that the crash at Fairchild AFB about 13 years ago?

[68skylark]

btw, speaking of choppers, check this out.

Oh man, that's amazing! Thanks for that link.

[IGOTMINE]

I have no where NEAR the sack required for that job!

[Born to Conserve]

“It’s called settling with power . . .”

These guys were coming in horizontally.

[usmcobra]

Sheared transmission input shafts or gears.... when the engines start to scream, it is because they no longer are under a load or connected to the main transmission.

I know I once stood over a AH-1J cobra that had rolled over on landing and sheared the engine drive shafts, there is no sound like it especially when you know that if you don’t shut them down then and there everything is going to come apart.

From the looks of things it happened just as the Blackhawk approached possibly as it flared just prior to landing, (nose up tail down to brake the approach speed) after the engines went to max RPM’s because they were no longer connected to the main Transmission the pilot dove for the deck in an attempt to land.

This is why the aircraft hit the deck nose down, he didn’t have the room, time or the altitude to auto rotate safely down and tried to pancake it on to the deck.

May they rest in peace.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Knee jerk conclusion.