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Leicester City Helicopter Crash.

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by Robarano, Oct 28, 2018.

  1. Member on here who posts only occasionally as far as I know is a helicopter pilot

    I flew in a few of them and the only time I can say that I enjoyed a flight, though still bloody nervous was in the Gulf on a Bell 212, strapped in with the doors open. A few of them had troubles with the rig owner who I was working for but they autorotated into the Oggy and floated there (they had big flotation bags on the things) till a ship came out and rescued them.

    The times I was on them going to North Sea Platforms scared the absolute Bayjasus out me, big fekin things, packed in like sardines and a rough sea below, if anything went wrong you just knew were toast
     
  2. Mate of mine working on the rigs told me once, the helicopter pilot asked a few lads to get off, as the wind wasn't strong enough to take off, and to take off it taxied down the runway like a plane. It wasn't until it was in the air that the thought struck him how close to its limits the copter must have been for the pilot to make that call.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. I worked offshore for 30 years. Lord knows how many flights I did in that time, most without incident. Flew in some real buckets of shit during my time in India where choppers used to haemorrage oil everywhere.
    Door fell off one in Vietnam too.
    Worked with 2 lads who had ditched . One had been on a North sea flight when they had a low oil pressure light for gearbox. They turned back towards Aberdeen but started to get severe vibration and fluid streaming down windows and into the cabin . They ditched ,and thankfully so ,as later during investigation it was found main rotor shaft was a baw hair away from being cracked right through. It was a known fault that had been ignored on previous inspections. (EC225)
    I have no love for them at all.

    RIP to the poor souls onboard the flight yesterday.
     
    • Love You Love You x 1
  4. Fooking Jesus that's a tough innings 30 years of that fair play to ye you earned it.
     
  5. A lot of speculation by the media as to the cause of the accident which grates on me as a professional offshore helicopter pilot for the last 22 years. In this industry, which is understandably heavily regulated, it serves no purpose to use conjecture at a time like this. Rather wait for the proper authorities and the AAIB to determine the causal factors. I knew the pilot concerned in this accident and my thoughts go out to his friends and family as well as the other four occupants.
     
    • Agree Agree x 8
  6. Respect to you, I know you wouldn't dream of asking for it but you have it.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  7. A real shame. Thoughts go out to all those involved.

    Quite surprised that so many people on this forum would avoid going in a helicopter.
    Riding a bike takes a certain amount of trust in equipment.
    Helicopters tend to get more servicing than most motorcycles
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. If the engine fails on my bike, I can coast to a stop, in all probability. :(
     
  9. I've had a chain snap I rolled along quite nicely at Mallory, coolant all over my rear tyre (twice) I slid into beckwithshaw quite nicely the second time, I was flying down the m11 first time only me boot slipping off the footrest made me pull in at duxford to investigate a faulty jubilee clip, had a bird strike by army apprentice college near harrogate fucking hurt my hand too fuck knows how it didn't lock the front up as it hit my brake lever at same time, numerous offs nothing major worst been a dry stone wall near the sun inn towards patley bridge basically I bottled a corner and lost my slab sider slid into the low wall...I have to agree with your sentiments, everything is ok until it goes wrong, and personally I'm happier 3ft off the floor I'll bet anything people who fly are a lot happier in the air.
     
  10. RIP to those involved, great shame.
    Colin McRae went that way too.

    I’ve been in them quite a few times, fantastic machines, until they get into trouble, then it’s big trouble.
    But I say that about motorbikes too.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  11. Any form of transport you use more than others increases your chance of an incident in that transport. That wouldn't stop me riding bikes, driving cars or flying of some kind. Most of our travelling is pretty safe
     
  12. I think it is really sad. The family have really embraced Leicester, made a huge difference to the City as well as the Football Club, and to Football as well, to lose someone who clearly wants to help others is a huge loss.
     
    • Agree Agree x 3
  13. Yes - they made a huge difference to the Club and the City of Leicester.

    Such a refreshing change to have had an owner that cared about the prosperity of the club, players and fans, rather than the usual egotistical grand standers that you see elsewhere.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  14. Regarding Helicopters, considering it is generally a Rich Mans Toy, I would have thought that a lot of investment would have been ploughed into design and build a Quad Copter type helicopter with 4 motors, 4 props etc. there is a huge possibilities with battery and one engine etc.
     
  15. I think the biggest failure points on helicopters are the mechanical linkages that link the engine(s) and controls to the rotors - drive shafts, universal joints, gearboxes etc. Most non IC engines (ie jet turbines) are ultra reliable.
     
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volocopter_2X
     
  17. I know there has been some, and various of types of designs Pete, just thought considering the risk factor of helicopters compared to other forms of flight a lot more investment would have been put in.
     
  18. So if its deemed pilot error the aircraft cant be to blame it only does what inputs the pilot put in ... and if it was a failure im sorry but things do fail anything mechanical will fail but when they fail is in the lap of the gods ...
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  19. What I will say in my professional capacity is that whilst it clearly points towards a single component failure, to assume it's attributable to poor maintenance or inspection is citing a failure from an engineering point of view. Let me assure you that even privately operated aircraft are still subject to stringent maintenance programs and compliance with EASA regulations. I would not want to imply any oversight as a causal factor and I am confident that the AAIB have already poured over the maintenance records. In my line of work you learn never to assume and whilst your comments are probably well meaning, it's always best to have all the facts in front of you before you pass judgement.
     
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