Auto Rotor is the way to land a helicopter power off. Pilots practice this in their training.
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Basically you are controlling the blade pitch. You let it drop while getting inertia built up in the spinning rotor. Then you use this rotational inertia to break the fall and set you down gently.
Pilot needs to stay within "Autorotor Envelope" That is, except on takeoff and landing, never go below a combination of altitude and forward speed.
They practice this with engine running, but disengaged from transmission by clutch.
HERE:
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But yes, helicopters are still more dangerous, and the stats show this.
Twin engine choppers a bit better, recommended if you will be landing on urban roof tops.
SJG
Humble Pie-30 Days In The Hole
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Frampton, Do You Feel Like We Do
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SJG's Photo Album
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Only helicopter ride I ever took was from San Diego to Longbeach CA while in the Navy. It was cold, drafty, loud and rough. That was enough for me. I have a friend who flew medivac coptres in Vietnam Nam. He said this morning that Kobie’s pilot should have cancelled the flight n
Careful design of main rotor, and tail rotor, and of pitch controls on both, and of transmission, and careful and well regulated inspections, mean that usually autorotor will work. If not, a helicopter is a death trap.
But remember, even a fixed wing plane can have structural failure and control failure. Just as dangerous as being in a helicopter.
Sounds like this crash was weather, not specifically helicopter related.
SJG
I heard on the radio that the sheriff's office had grounded their own choppers that day b/c of the bad/foggy weather - so it may be that the weather was not proper to be flying in - in the end it may have just been a tragic incident of human-error probably based on that they should have not been flying that day under those conditions
All of the evidence so far points to a bad decision, flying during inclement weather, tragedy is compounded by the wealth that make it so easy for these people to use such an expensive unforgiving means of transportation. Still a tragedy, sad that all of those children, and relatively young people. lost their lives.
“ heard on the radio that the sheriff's office had grounded their own choppers that day b/c of the bad/foggy weather”. Doesn’t necessarily mean that Kobe’s helicopter should have been grounded. As I understand it was an advanced chopper capable of bad weather flight. But of course, the pilot needs to be on top of his game.
Dang - I was shocked about what happened to Kobe - but the link I posted above shows a pic of his 13 y/o daughter and *looking* at her and knowing what happened to her did def affect me more
Island Express Helicopters suspends flights to Catalina in wake of Kobe Bryant crash (owned helicopter)
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Was twin engine helicopter, so engine failure was not likely the cause of the crash. But other kinds of mechanical failures are possible.
If one flies too low, they may have gotten outside the Auto Rotor Envelope. Hence power failure would result in a crash landing. Pilots are trained to avoid this, except on takeoff and landing, when they can't.
Chopper was too low for radar following to work. normally no reason to fly that low.
Investigators analyzing video that captures sound of Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
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Homendy said a 2004 crash of a Sikorsky S-76 in Galveston, Texas, that killed 10 people, prompted the NTSB to recommend to the Federal Aviation Administration that "all existing and new U.S. registered turbine-powered roto-craft certified for six or more passenger seats be equipped with a Terrain Awareness Warning System."
"They did not implement the recommendation," Homendy said at a news conference on Tuesday. "Certainly, TAWS could have helped to provide information to the pilot on what terrain the pilot was flying in."
ABC news suspension
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‘No Reasonable Excuse’: Experts Debate Lack Of Safety System In Kobe Bryant’s Helicopter
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Sources: Wreckage of Kobe Bryant helicopter crash moved to Arizona
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Kobe Bryant's death throws spotlight on crash-warning system
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SJG
1932, Invention of Ford Flat Head V8, I believe with 4 way crank too.
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I am going with the pilot made a poor choice and screwed the pooch. Weather is merciless on daring pilots who try to fly the thin margin of success/ failure. The variable is that conditions change and if you get caught in rapidly deteriorating conditions your life and you passengers are at a measurable risk.
Maybe this pilot was poorly trained and freaked out by the fog. Tried to fly under it. Making it more dangerous because he is going outside of the autorotor envelope. Also making collision with terrain more likely?
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Usually it takes multiple failures which contribute to these crashes. But there is still on thing which finally brings it down.
Could be just collision with terrain.
Without that special terrain height equipment, one has no way of knowing beyond visual.
SJG
Before Kobe Bryant Crash, Helicopter Company Had Clashed Over Safety (today)
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Does not sound good, as safety is paying out against money, and the FAA is too timid about making safety improvment rules.
Helicopter terrain avoidance
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TAWS
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Sounds useful, but it costs money and FAA has not required it.
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SJG
Trying to climb, helicopter rotor blades may have hit tree branch.
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Helicopter company releases statement after crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others
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SJG
9 hours ago:
What's known, and unknown, about moments before Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
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Communication: The pilot had told an air traffic controller he was planning to climb to 4,000 feet, but logs indicate he turned left in the clouds at 2,300 feet. The pilot had lost contact with air traffic control at the very end, according to radio recordings reviewed by The Times, but it’s unclear why.
The pilot: It’s clear weather was a major concern for the pilot, Zobayan. He requested special visual flight rules, or VFR, which allow pilots to fly in controlled airspace when ceilings are less than 1,000 feet or when visibility is less than three miles (five kilometres). As weather conditions deteriorated on the trip from Orange County to Ventura County, the pilot requested “flight following,” a process in which controllers are in regular contact with an aircraft and can help navigate. In recorded radio communications, the air traffic control tower is heard telling the pilot the chopper is too low for flight following. Radar data indicate Zobayan, who had been a licensed commercial helicopter pilot for 19 years, guided the copter to 2,300 feet and then began a left turn. That’s when the rapid descent began. The reason for the pilot’s final moves remains unclear.
SJG
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TJ Street
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Robin Trower - For Earth Below (1975)
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Feb 15th, 2020
Preliminary report on helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant is released; it does not say the cause
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On Feb. 7, NTSB officials released an 11-page update detailing the conditions that they found on scene and some of the initial findings, including the conclusion that the engine did not appear to have failed.
That report says that the helicopter’s descent increased to over 4,000 feet per minute and hit the ground at just over 184 miles per hour.
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During the flight, Zobayan requested special visual flight rules, which lets a pilot fly in weather worse than allowed under standard visual flight rules.
The radio communications between the Burbank airport tower and chopper shows the pilot requested “flight following” which is flying with monitoring from air traffic control. The tower can be heard telling Zobayan that the aircraft was too low before the conversation ended.
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SJG
Squatting in high heels
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Peter Frampton Do You Feel Like We Do (2019, quite interesting)
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Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
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Amy Winehouse/Paul Weller - I heard it through the grapevine.Hootynanny 2006.
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Jefferson Starship Miracles
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With no Black Box, that 4,000 feet per minute and hit the ground at just over 184 miles per hour, data has to come from radar following.
There are other things which could bring a helicopter down besides engine failure or impact with a tree or the ground.
Rugged terrain was making a problem as the helicopter was getting too low for radar following to work!
Better if they had that altitude above ground level system! That would have told them everything radar following would have.
Question, what altitude above ground level was it at when they got those descent and speed numbers?
Did the pilot make a poor choice, trying to go under the weather, instead of maintaining good altitude and letting radar following protect them from collisions? Pilot was asking for special rules, what he panicking or poorly trained? I do not know the answer.
Should that flight have just been canceled, as the sheriffs grounded their own helicopters due to the weather?
SJG
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