Three are dead because they were greedy
Two other life flight companies refused to fly in the IFR and known icing conditions that killed all three on board this helicopter. Helicopters are especially vulnerable to icing. The blades stop flying and the helicopter becomes a fast falling rock. No NTSB report is out yet but it all adds up. It is sad these folks died because some one thought going in these dangerous conditions would gain them some fast cash.
The pilot was IFR qualified, just barely but he helicopter was not set up for this kind of flying. That is why the two other companies turned the flight down
I know this area well, I fly over it often, I hope I never have engine problems in these remote tree covered hills.
https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Three-Killed-In-Medical-Helicopter-Crash-232216-1.html
The pilot was IFR qualified, just barely but he helicopter was not set up for this kind of flying. That is why the two other companies turned the flight down
I know this area well, I fly over it often, I hope I never have engine problems in these remote tree covered hills.
https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Three-Killed-In-Medical-Helicopter-Crash-232216-1.html
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Some may call it greed
Other people would say they were true heroes that volunteered to put their lives in danger to help others...
In either case, I'm sorry it didn't work out0 -
My friend is a UPS captain. He has flown with them for 30 years. Prior to that he was a pilot on a number of smaller commuter airlines. He is/was a certified flight instructor and built his own small 2 seat plane.
He said generally speaking pilots, especially private pilots are the most arrogant and self centered people around. If private airplane crashes were lumped in with commercial flight crashes, no one would fly!
Obviously, there are exceptions to this and not all private pilots are cocky and arrogant. But, I have certainly met my share.
Not sure what this has to do with the chopper crash, but I felt like sharing it!0 -
Looks like they could build in some type of heat tracing in those chopper blades? 0 -
I didn't see anything in the article that had a conclusion what happened. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by select-fire
I didn't see anything in the article that had a conclusion what happened.
The NTSB will have to come up with that.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Smitty500mag
Looks like they could build in some type of heat tracing in those chopper blades?
Honestly the heat tracing would only buy time...not much else. That kind of technology in a rotary wing aircraft would not be cheap! At least not with our FAA.
It's hard to say, but in all honesty the article gives no real useful information about the weaher conditions.
However flying into known icing conditions (if thats what happened) is a very bad idea in any aircraft...especially a helo.
I would rather fly into enemy air than icing conditions...at least I can shoot back at the enemy!0 -
Did they not watch "The Day After Tomorrow"? 0 -
Sounds like they were inexperienced. 0 -
An airplane just glides along while a chopper must beat the air into submission.
Growing up, the neighbor south of us had a crop spraying business and used a helicopter. He could give you a ride you would never forget! He is almost 90 now and still gets around pretty good; still drives a car, anyway.0 -
Sikorsky is equipping its S-92A heavy and S-76D medium helicopters with a rotor ice protection system (RIPS) that uses automatic electrothermal heating of the main and tail rotor blades.Mar 4, 2013
I watched a segment on tv yesterday about a rescue when they turn on the heating system it reduces power and increases fuel consumption0 -
I was a paramedic for many years in a small town in central Georgia.
Of course, our little EMS did not have a chopper. But there was a chopper in Atlanta and another in Augusta Georgia. And fairly often they came in to take patients from our hospital.
To be honest it usually was a waste of time because we could get a patient lights and sirens to either of those cities in 90 minutes.
The chopper took only 20 minutes.
But, if it took the chopper an hour to get to our hospital, and took them 10 minutes to load the patient, then it was a tie.
And our ambulance cost $450 and the chopper cost $1800.
Got to where the insurance companies refused to pay the extra cost for the chopper.
At any rate I was keeping an eye on medical chopper crashes back then and there were a lot of them. It was way, way more dangerous than a ground ambulance.
And, in a chopper crash, usually everybody was killed.
I could see medical chopper use being a plus in the Rocky Mountains, or, in Atlanta, where in rush hour it would take the ground ambulance 2 hours to get 30 miles to the hospital.
In most of those chopper crashes that I studied up on, the aircraft hit power lines.0 -
quote:Originally posted by allen griggs
I was a paramedic for many years in a small town in central Georgia.
Of course, our little EMS did not have a chopper. But there was a chopper in Atlanta and another in Augusta Georgia. And fairly often they came in to take patients from our hospital.
To be honest it usually was a waste of time because we could get a patient lights and sirens to either of those cities in 90 minutes.
The chopper took only 20 minutes.
But, if it took the chopper an hour to get to our hospital, and took them 10 minutes to load the patient, then it was a tie.
And our ambulance cost $450 and the chopper cost $1800.
Got to where the insurance companies refused to pay the extra cost for the chopper.
At any rate I was keeping an eye on medical chopper crashes back then and there were a lot of them. It was way, way more dangerous than a ground ambulance.
And, in a chopper crash, usually everybody was killed.
I could see medical chopper use being a plus in the Rocky Mountains, or, in Atlanta, where in rush hour it would take the ground ambulance 2 hours to get 30 miles to the hospital.
In most of those chopper crashes that I studied up on, the aircraft hit power lines.
Around here they only use them when time is of the essence. The pilots actually takes the helicopters home with them so that they could be ready at a moment's notice. After I grew up and moved out, my parents had a neighbor that was a Life flight pilot, I know a lot of times we'd see him coming home or taking off in it.0
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