ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

[LikaNui]

Breaking news from moments ago. Not much on the Advertiser site yet, but this was on the Star-Bulletin's website:

"One person died and three were seriously injured when a helicopter crashed on Kauai’s north shore this afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
"The pilot of the Smoky Mountain Helicopter, who was uninjured, reported hearing a loud noise about 1 p.m. before losing control of the aircraft, which crashed on the YMCA Camp after hitting some trees, said FAA Public affairs Ian Gregor.
"Inspectors with the FAA are on the scene and officials with the National Transportation Safety Board are on their way to the site, he said. Kauai county spokeswoman Mary Daubert said firefighters were responding to the accident.
"The helicopter was a McDonald Douglas 369 built in 1987.
"The crash occurred three days after a Heli USA helicopter carrying seven people crash landed on the island, killing the pilot and three passengers."

[tutusue]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Yikes. This just validates why, when asked to go up in a chopper for work, I always say...NO!!!

When I saw your subject, LN, I thought I'd learned the reason behind all the sirens in my neck 'o the woods. Not so. Guess I'll have to wait for more breaking news.

[tutusue]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Breaking news...another chopper crash. News8 didn't say which island but I'm wondering if it's in the water off the Waianae Coast...about 8:45 this morning. I slept in and was still in bed at that time...staring out at the ocean...when I saw a huge splash on the horizon. Bigger than a splash, really. My first thought was a pod of choreographed whales were overly zealous! I saw one spouting a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I bolted out of bed and watched the horizon for about 10 min. and saw nothing else except a small boat stop in that general area.

I'm sooooo curious.

[joshuatree]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Maybe these sight seeing tour companies should simply switch to airships. Seems like every few years, there's a spate of chopper crashes. Call me naive, but an airship crashing seems milder and more survivable than a chopper crash.

[tutusue]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

I just called News8. Their breaking news turned out to be nothing. I'm still curious about that big splash, tho'!

[Pomai]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Maybe these sight seeing tour companies should simply switch to airships. Seems like every few years, there's a spate of chopper crashes. Call me naive, but an airship crashing seems milder and more survivable than a chopper crash.

Statistics still prove that you're more likely to die driving to the airport, then walking (pedestrian) across the street to the air terminal than you are when you board ANY aircraft.

There's simply far less idiots who are pilots than there are pedestrians and drivers, and FAA regulations are much tighter and enforced than DMV.

[joshuatree]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Statistics still prove that you're more likely to die driving to the airport, then walking (pedestrian) across the street to the air terminal than you are when you board ANY aircraft.

There's simply far less idiots who are pilots than there are pedestrians and drivers, and FAA regulations are much tighter and enforced than DMV.

Agree on that but in the realm of chopper tours, airships would be quieter, use less fuel (better to the tour company expenses), and less accident prone compared to a chopper which translates to a significant image in tourism. Of course, buying an airship is a lot harder than buying a chopper so maybe that's an issue as well.

[lavagal]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

I just called News8. Their breaking news turned out to be nothing. I'm still curious about that big splash, tho'!

Sue, yesterday on my way to work I saw a huge splash, and it actually was an enthusiastic pod of whales. It was the biggest I had ever seen. I hope that's what you saw.

[tutusue]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Sue, yesterday on my way to work I saw a huge splash, and it actually was an enthusiastic pod of whales. It was the biggest I had ever seen. I hope that's what you saw.

I think if it was anything serious we would've heard something by now as there was a small boat in the general vicinity.

[Composite 2992]

Re: ANOTHER deadly chopper crash

Maybe these sight seeing tour companies should simply switch to airships. Seems like every few years, there's a spate of chopper crashes. Call me naive, but an airship crashing seems milder and more survivable than a chopper crash.

Unless you're in the Hindenburg... :-)

Most of the crashes seem to be related to pilot error. Sometimes it's someone flying into bad weather conditions, then into a mountain at high speed.

The last two seems to have been mechanical failure. These machines go through a lot of stress. For example, the blades on the main rotor have to change pitch on each rotation, from 300 to 500 rotations per minute. That's a lot of repeated stress!

That's why the number of maintenance hours per flight hour for a helicopter are tremendously high.

But having flown in a lot of them, there's nothing like a helicopter flight. And considering the number of operations per year, the accident rate is very low. More people get killed and maimed just crossing the street.