http://video.yahoo.com/video/search?p=fiji+blackhawk&x=38&y=24

http://news.yahoo.com/video/2462/pg:2

I was never taught to do a rotary wing approach like that.

Not on Yahoo anymore but it's on home page of www.aftenposten.no I don't understand why he came down that way, it's a sure way to smash things up.It was hard and not vertical !!

Saw it on tv yesterday and tonight and couldn't believe it.
The first rumer put out by the Mil was that his rotor hit part of the ship, ie Pilot error etc.

In todays paper Commander Rush is quoted as saying the exercise "shouldn't have gone ahead".
(Presumably due to the weather/wind.)

He also said there was a tail wind from the port side of the ship. The exercise was apparently called " quick stop". Sounds like the usual Mil stuff-up. The only thing I know about choppers is they're dangerous and don't like tailwinds. (in hover).

So why would a normal landing come from down wind, and be called a "quick stop" if the pilot wasn't ordered to do so.

The paper goes on to say that when the Mil investigators tried, the chopper crashed every single time, except when there was a headwind.
(maybe they used a simulator or we'd have none left by now.)

So begs the question, why would anyone land downwind on a hele-pad??

I just happened to catch this on the news last night myself. It sure hit fast and hard..... real bummer. I wonder what the wind speed was he was flying/fighting in...?

Looks like to me he got into a vortex ring state. That is what they call Settling with power. To fast, high rate of decent and a tail wind. You don't see the whole thing just the last few seconds. As for Quick Stops. We teach those, and its a confindace building manavoer. It builds skills in power managment, Rotor RPM control and pedal use. This all comes together in autorotations. You can land down wind, provided you are in good control to begin with, and not into a confined area, Landing on the back end of a small ship is a confined area. Look the pilot screwed it up, or at least from what little the video shows points in that direction. These things happen from time to time. It can happen to anybody. As to why land down wind to a heli pad, well sometimes its the only way to make the approach, so getting things slow and under good control is key, and if you are going to do a go around, decide early.

quote:

Originally posted by Unit5A:
.. It sure hit fast and hard..... real bummer. I wonder what the wind speed was he was flying/fighting in...?

I believe he had something like a 15knot tailwind.
George Semel explains well above.
I was taught to land and takeoff down wind with limited power conditions,and once again as George said, you can do it if your in control of the craft & dont leave your decision to late!
Going by his excessive forward speed and rate of decent, I believe he simply misjudged/fckd up.
I was taught by a pilot with many many 000 hrs in cattle mustering(low ,fast, hot, confined area conditions)Mountain work n PapuaNewGuinea(usually hot heavy and high conditions)and NorthSea Oil platform work, and his simple advice for confined areas was to make your sound assesment(to continue or abort) at a point where you can still pull out or at least be able to fly over your original mark without being committed or over decending. And if you do decide to go in, choose an approach that allows the best possible angle and best chance of exit.
They sure can be and are alot fun, but one must be aware that when they bite back, they can bite back very hard,much harder than most any other machine.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodjack:
I believe he simply misjudged/fckd up.

Maybe, but a couple of points. One Bigwig said the system *ed/up and the exercise should not have gone ahead. These Pilots obey orders.
Sure you can practise dangerous manouvers, but does it have to be at sea with about 10 people on board? Remember they said "all other trials under the same conditions also failed" Sounds like a lot of */ups to me.

If theres something wrong with their procedures or command it does not surprise me.
They lost a SeaKing chopper some time ago due to lack of maintenance(cost cutting)can you believe it???. If one thinks they cannot afford maintenance,then how can you afford the loss of the aircraft and crew???

Yep and we just finished the SeaKing inquiry and about 10 personal are in trouble due to one nut and splitpin installed incorrectly.

Then we had some choppers flying around almost aimlessly at night using night vision glasses, until eventually two collided.

Makes me glad the Mil wouldn't have me. So did my own thing in a single seater.

Mind you we still nearly collided often enough.
How about head on through a flight of four Sabres at about 15 feet AGL.
Or the SkyHawks that went under me. (But they were Kiwis.) Then there was the "close pass" I made on an Iroquois, just to get my own back.

Hell ya not safe anywhere.

Woodjack,

Did you work the oil field at Lake Kutubu?

....No.

That was ugly. Didn't look like bad weather except for the wind.

The latest quote in the papers here, someone stated he came in too fast. Now there is a clue for the investigaters.
A big tail wind gust probably wouldn't help a flair either. (I doubt our pilots are high time, our governments a bit stingy that way.)

Update; Now some one's blaming "Rotor droop" Supposed to be a known fault with Blackhawks loosing power sometimes. Dunno if that's where they fall down their own rotor wash?