Posted on 09/24/2010 1:43:30 PM PDT by South40
Two Navy helicopters from North Island Naval Air Station were damaged, and their pilots are now grounded, after some bizarre flying over Lake Tahoe last week.
A Navy spokesman confirmed Thursday that a video posted on YouTube is genuine footage of two MH-60 Romeo helicopters from North Islands Helicopter Maritime Strike 41 squadron.
The video shows the $33 million helicopters flying low over the lake. One seems to lose control, spinning and crashing into the water. The pilot then regains control and pulls the craft back into the air.
The Navy wouldnt identify the pilots or say whether the helicopters were supposed to be hovering over Lake Tahoe, only saying that the entire Sept. 13 flight is under investigation.
The pilots are not flying until the Navy wraps up an aviation mishap board investigation, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel, spokesman for the Naval Air Forces command at North Island.
Lake Tahoe is not a normal training area for Navy pilots, he said.
The pilots could face administrative action and even lose their flying qualifications depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Though the YouTube video only catches one crashing, both helicopters hit the water because they didnt have sufficient power to hold their hovering positions, Kakiel said.
The damage suffered by the two aircraft is estimated at between $50,000 and $500,000. They had to land at Lake Tahoe Airport to be repaired.
Watching the video made retired Navy jet pilot Steve Diamond think the helicopter crew may have had a legitimate reason to be hovering over Lake Tahoe.
Somebody out hotdogging probably wouldnt do it in view of another aircrew, or over a popular tourist destination, said Diamond, who retired in 2002.
Somebody has to be a total moron to do it in total view of tourists and in a recreational area, when everyone has a camera these days. We dont really have morons flying naval aircraft, he said.
Its possible they were troubleshooting a problem; you dont know, Diamond said. Its easy to make a snap judgment, but there are other possibilities.
A different set of pilots flew the aircraft home, Kakiel said. HSM-41, which trains new pilots, dispatched another crew on a commercial flight to fly the helicopters back Sept. 16.
The MH-60 Romeo is the Navys newest helicopter and is considered state of the art. Its usual missions take it over the open ocean for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare.
The MH-60s were flying home from Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento where they had taken part in an air show. Needing to refuel, the pilots were headed to Lemoore Naval Air Station when the incident happened.
A typical crew for the MH-60 Romeo is a pilot, co-pilot and crewman.
Lemoore NAS is Appx 170 mi SSE of Mather. Emerald Bay is about 70 mi ENE of Mather. Surely there was a lake closer to their route.
Really? Things must have changed after I left in 1993.
A remark like that is totally uncalled for and if you are/were an airline pilot you should know better.
BAD BOYZ WITH BIG TOYZ!!
OV-10 Bronco pilots, navy and marines, where the worst. Of course back then, YouTube wasn’t around to rat you out.
Honestly, when I was 19, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.
Not only did I get to fly and sail all over the world and eat for FREE, but they gave me all kinds of multimillion dollar “stuff” to mess with.
Of course, I always stayed inside the lines, that way I got to play with more stuff longer.
Sorry, if you didn’t do some time in the military, any branch, you just wouldn’t understand.
Well, sometimes you just can’t hide damage to your ride.
These helicopters were supposedly flying from Mather AFB to Lemoore NAS. That trip does not take them anywhere near Lake Tahoe. Both bases are in the San Joachin Valley, Lemoore being south of Mather. Tahoe is east and slightly north of Mather. Who is kidding who here???
I didn't serve in any branch, I was busy running my business and paying taxes which paid your and others' salaries. If you are now a civilian that's something I'm sure you understand. :-)
Actually, I thought they were practicing their landing flare.
And, doing a bang up job of it to boot!
I was curious to see what reaction I might get from Navy fliers by mentioning Grampa Pettibone. I reckon I’m getting old (like Grampa), and he’s no longer found in Naval Aviation News.
C'mon! Lay some stories on us.
For some reason, I’m remembering the scene at the beginning of “Top Gun” where James Tolkan as Stinger, the carrier air group commander, is handing Maverick and Goose (Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards) their hindquarters for buzzing five control towers and the admiral’s daughter.
“You don’t own that plane, the tax payers do! Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash. “
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the United States. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft
I still keep a copy of Grampa Petibone. Long story short, plane took off from island A to fly to island B. Routine flight. 3, count em 3, navigators on board. One pilot, one plane captain.
They ran out of gas and punched out about 1500 miles off course.
True story.
Soooo, they followed the road, flying just a few feet off the deck. Great fun looking out the open back hatch, seeing the road rushing away like you were on the ground at high speed.
Also great fun to hear one of the pilots say as they went over a rise in the road, "Imagine coming over and finding a tank in the road"..............
Cover-up Alert!
I knew that was an 80-foot monster swimming around...(And it had nothing to do with all the booze I drank that night!)
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