Helicopter Pilot Mistake DESTROYS Helicopters!

A helicopter crashed into another helicopter and it was all caught on camera and the investigation revealed the shocking details of this heliport and how several minor oversights ultimately led to this catastrophic collision.

#aviation #helicopter #pilotdebrief

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[funjon]

One of the worst phrases to ever hear is "we've always done it this way"

[stevejh]

Trying to provide Carol with ANY form of an excuse, is inexcusable! She flew a perfectly serviceable helicopter into an aircraft of the ground! Regardless if that second aircraft was running, not running or even a moose, her job is to avoid it! She failed and failed dismally.

[ocukor]

My best take away from this is "no matter how many hours you have, you can always make critical mistakes"

[JohnWilson-ktze]

HAA pilot, had a hospital helipad that was much bigger than usual, certified for 1 H-60. We were flying much smaller helos and a large number of pilots thought it was OK to land two helos side by side. Even though the pad was only certified, and marked, for one helo at a time.

When I was challenged why I refused to “go along, ” I showed them this video and said I’d take it up with the FAA.

[n]

This is so weird, why do you need to be that close to each other? It’s like… OBVIOUSLY an accident waiting to happen to any observer.

[osowers]

As a contractor who worked at multiple industrial sites over the years, I can say the biggest opposition to safety is when you bring up something as a safety issue that they have been getting away with for years. At one such site, I wrote an email regarding fire hazards and they blew me off because of the fact they had been doing it that way with no accidents. Approximately 30 days after my email they had a million dollar fire. I have also dealt with municipalities who are exempt from obeying the same rules they force other businesses to do. This is true regarding fire department rules and utility rules. I have seen it bite them so many times, yet how are they allowed to be exempt?

[Lithane]

First and foremost, the layout of the landing positions being 2 feet of clearance from each other was the primary cause of this accident, it was bound to happen some day. Secondly, Carol should have visually seen that the other helicopter was positioned closer than normal and erred on the side of caution. As you said, there was zero reason to rush the landing, yet Carol approached and landed in all of 30 seconds.

[bobdonovan]

No matter what line of work you're in, the hardest thing to change is "The way we've always done it".

[randynielsen]

Seems like a classic issue of complacency. A lot of very experienced people just assuming that everything is going to work out because it always has.

[OrionCorsari]

Wait wait wait……what was the explanation for Carol not seeing the activated strobe on Marks aircraft? Come on man - she ran into a stationary aircraft with rotors spinning and strobe flashing which provided plenty of notice to her. Yes, Mark’s aircraft was not parked in the appropriate spot but for Christ’s sake how in the hell did she fail to recognize that prior to landing and also miss the strobe light? This was totally on her

[fishsmiddy]

lol that statement “nobody is paying attention to what Carol is doing” you forgot to add, “neither was Carrol” the only person that could avoid what went wrong was Carrol.

[Adamas_]

As the pilot in command, it's always your fault when you hit a stationary aircraft, hangar, building, object... The other aircraft contributed only in that it wasn't parked "where they always did" and added to the risk associated with her muscle memory and procedural actions. Complacency will get you every time. Our highest risk crew was always high time paired with high time.

[fhuber]

She never touched the take off/landing pad. "Fast taxied" into a parked aircraft.

If you hit the parked aircraft, you're the problem.

[marlow]

Ok, F-15 jock, this helicopter operation is not inherently dangerous. If Carol can see to make the approach then she can see the other helicopter sitting there - PERIOD. Any competent helicopter pilot would have sat it down onto the approach pad and waited for the other machine to depart, pick up and move over or shut it down, THEN she could move to her proper landing pad. Carol’s comment about having “never not landed there outside of the painted box” just demonstrates her lack of mental operational flexibility. She operates out of “boiler-plate knowledge” that has been drilled into her head instead of being able to adapt to any change in her environment. This is a dangerous head-space condition to have, especially for a helicopter pilot because helicopter operations come with inherently fluid operating environments unlike airplane operations. (And I’ve got thousands of hours in both and if just a “plane” pilot doesn’t realize or believe that, it’s their lack of experience talking, not their wisdom)

[cruzin]

When Carol said she couldn't tell if the other helicopters blades were spinning, she should have stopped right there, and not attempted to move until it was clear.

[leoashrae]

The NTSB is 100% correct. Mark's failure to park on the designated spot is irrelevant to the cause of the accident. According to my copy of the US Army Accident Investigator's Handbook, the hovering aircraft is responsible for maintaining clearance to the parked (skids on the ground, at flight-idle, conducting preflight procedures is considered PARKED) aircraft. In short, Carol had her head up her butt...

[TheBullethead]

This is crazy. I was in the fire service for 20 years. All our units always had a way to talk to each other directly on our own radio channels. It blows my mind that 2 police helicopters and their compadres on the ground, plus the dispatchers, weren't in constant contact via their own radios regardless of the absence of a UNICOM radio at the airport.

[lucid]

So Mark wasn't in the center of his box and Carol stated after all her years she's never seen a Pilot not in the box. It still falls on her because she didn't check and verify anything, she was complacent and went through the motions in a hasty fashion. All blame and responsibility to land safely still falls on her regardless of Marks actions or inactions. That like blaming a tree for a car smacking it at 85 mphs

[ControlTouchMaster]

I’ve been flying helicopters for 30 years and have an ATP-Rotorcraft license . Every helicopter pilot I know uses the rule that you should maintain at least a 1/3 rotor diameter distance from any obstacle. The landing pilot didn’t verify her distance and was therefore at fault. Ground handlers or radio communications would not be needed if she followed basic blade clearance practices.

[Fomites]

I blame Carol. She could see the other helo operating and she just flew too close. Park it on the grass or wherever temporarily until Mark has departed.