RIP Kobe and others, was sad news.
They sure needed synthetic vision if it was caused by disorientation and not a mechanical failure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pjNIYm5zNo
Helicopter
- Thread starter Exhaustgases
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'Get there-itis' kills more pilots due to poor weather conditions / decision making / loss of reference point(s).... than mechanial failure.
RIP to all.
You can listen to air traffic control talking to pilot before the crash giving him instructions. It's on YouTube and I listened a few times.
If Kobe was not super rich they probably would have driven in a car. And in this case the pilot was initially not allowed to fly because of the weather. But they made an exception and allowed the pilot to fly.
A tragic loss.
Tragic. I too listened to air traffic control audio, multiple circles over Glendale now explained.
RIP Kobe and all on board.
Tomorrow the 29th marks one year when two helicopter air ambulance company's turned down a flight due to weather, but a third service accepted the risk:
link to article
The three Ohioans that died in the crash:
![[Linked Image]](https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/attachments/usergals/2020/01/full-55018-40640-h3edit.jpg)
The decision to fly was the thing that killed them.
The weather was below VFR. Helicopters "scud run" all the time. Very easy to get IFR when you're scud running...and then you run into things like mountains or buildings.
Pressure to fly from a rich owner, overconfidence in one's ability to fly, insufficient training, poor risk assessment.
All of it led to one bad decision: leaving the ground.
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reports said the pilot had over 8K hours, doesn't seem like this would be his first brush with low vis given that number of flight hours
[quote=Astro14]The decision to fly was the thing that killed them.
The weather was below VFR. Helicopters "scud run" all the time. Very easy to get IFR when you're scud running...and then you run into things like mountains or buildings.
Pressure to fly from a rich owner, overconfidence in one's ability to fly, insufficient training, poor risk assessment.
Also don't forget that most recent menace of scud running, cell towers. Everybody knows where the big monsters are but in the last 20 years it's those little guys that keep swatting bugsmashers like flys. They seem to pop up like daisy's always on high ridges ect. Around here we've got windmills too but at least they are typically several in a clump so are easier to see.
Those red flashing lights that the US seems so stuck on are well really crap compared strobes. The Canadians got that one right When you look at at the US towers near a Canadian white strobe its clear which one is better. Scud running is always bad business. Everyone who flys seems to know someone who bought it from this simple hazard . As they say " some of those clouds have rocks in them".
No argument here on the decision to fly in that weather. "Get there-itis" takes quite a few here in AK every year unfortunately.
FAA said that local radar had the helicopter at 180+ knots and 4000 ft decent just prior to impact. That decent rate doesn't make any sense for controlled flight into terrain.
Apparently, at take off visibility was 4 miles, so no risk there. As he moved up the valley the cloud ceiling dropped and thickened dramatically.
He probably didn't want to tell his VIP and guests they had to turn back and miss the game ...
He should have.
There was a similar incident in New York City a few years ago. The passenger called his pilot at the airport to cancel the trip because the weather was too bad so he was going to go by car instead. The pilot said he already had the engine running and was about to take off so he went anyway. The helicopter crashed on the way to pick up the passenger.
With the millions that was spent on that helicopter, it should have had synthetic vision. Then fog or weather is not an issue for seeing and maintaining orientation. Such cheap insurance and life saving. Did you see the video?
Originally Posted by Exhaustgases
With the millions that was spent on that helicopter, it should have had synthetic vision. Then fog or weather is not an issue for seeing and maintaining orientation. Such cheap insurance and life saving. Did you see the video?
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A person on the ground had video of the helicopter, there was fog but nothing you couldn't see through, it was clear enough for a helicopter though probably not for a plane.
Here's a classic example of Get there-itis.
https://www.theledger.com/news/2019...disoriented-before-fatal-crash-in-bartow
Originally Posted by Astro14
The decision to fly was the thing that killed them.
The weather was below VFR. Helicopters "scud run" all the time. Very easy to get IFR when you're scud running...and then you run into things like mountains or buildings.
Pressure to fly from a rich owner, overconfidence in one's ability to fly, insufficient training, poor risk assessment.
All of it led to one bad decision: leaving the ground.
Fog is no excuse for a crash nowadays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGEagkcsXg
Agree with the above post, more to the story.
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Originally Posted by Exhaustgases
Fog is no excuse for a crash nowadays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLGEagkcsXg
Agree with the above post, more to the story.
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