NYC and those pesky helicopters
- Thread starter Im2bent
- Start date
Anything that doesn’t go 100% correct is catastrophic with helicopters
I'm guessing that there's more to this than "loose fitting" and/or "out of date-out of spec" component.
I also question the typical "pilot error" unless the pilot took out a "tagged out" aircraft or something insane like that.
I also question the typical "pilot error" unless the pilot took out a "tagged out" aircraft or something insane like that.
looks like they had time to ponder what happened...
This was a VN-era Bell 206. The transmission above the cabin locks up from a failed bearing or lack of lube, snapping the shaft and allowing the main rotor to hit the tail boom. The impact caused the main rotor to separate, and the cabin falls like a rock without the main rotor acting as a parachute.
Ah, the main rotor falling off....and notice there is no tail rotor as its going down (or at least that's what it appears to me). Dunno the sequence....e.g. main rotor coming off and cutting the tail or the tail breaking off and the rotor being pulled off by unexpected g's.
Too many fucking moving parts in a helo...especially the rotor head....and no, I would not trust the maintenance of a fucking tour operation.
Too many fucking moving parts in a helo...especially the rotor head....and no, I would not trust the maintenance of a fucking tour operation.
Family of five from Spain including three kids. No survivors.
Possible cause was a 'mast bump.'
Possible cause was a 'mast bump.'
The most amazing thing is that in my entire life, I don’t ever remember seeing American news cover ANYTHING that ever happened in Australia.
The amazing thing is you have to go to foreign sources if you want anything resembling reality.
Family of five from Spain (Siemens exec.) included children aged 4,5, & 11.
Last edited:
adding pics of a bell 206
Bell 206 - Wikipedia
I didn't know Powers was killed piloting one!!
"On August 1, 1977, famous U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was piloting a helicopter for KNBC Channel 4 over West Los Angeles, California, when the aircraft crashed, killing him and cameraman George Spears. They had been video recording brush fires in Santa Barbara County in the station's helicopter and were leaving the area.[22]
On August 27, 1990, musician Stevie Ray Vaughan, pilot Jeff Brown, and three members of Eric Clapton's crew, Bobby Brooks, Nigel Browne, and Colin Smythe, were killed in a 206B crash.[23]"
Hudson helicopter crash pilot was Navy SEALs veteran, 36, who used to be a celebrity bodyguard
"Sean Johnson, 36, was formerly a gunner's mate responsible for fixing equipment"
Hudson helicopter crash pilot was Navy SEALs veteran, 36,
Sean Johnson, 36, had recently moved to New York to begin his aviation career.
"The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration is currently probing the cause of the horror crash which took place at around 3:15pm.
Calls to emergency services were received at approximately 3:17pm, just 17 minutes after it took off from downtown Manhattan.
Michael Roth, 71, who owns New York Helicopter which provided the tour and the chopper, said that the aircraft needed fuel."
'He [the pilot] called in that he was landing and that he needed fuel, and it should have taken him about three minutes to arrive, but 20 minutes later, he didn't arrive,' Roth told The Telegraph.
Last edited:
adding pics of a bell 206
View attachment 8661847
Bell 206 - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I didn't know Powers was killed piloting one!!
"On August 1, 1977, famous U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers was piloting a helicopter for KNBC Channel 4 over West Los Angeles, California, when the aircraft crashed, killing him and cameraman George Spears. They had been video recording brush fires in Santa Barbara County in the station's helicopter and were leaving the area.[22]On August 27, 1990, musician Stevie Ray Vaughan, pilot Jeff Brown, and three members of Eric Clapton's crew, Bobby Brooks, Nigel Browne, and Colin Smythe, were killed in a 206B crash.[23]"
I'm actually friends with Francis Gary Powers II... Great guy and a Cold War historian. His dad, after leaving the USAF, was a reporter for an LA station and his Bell Jet Ranger crashed with a fuel gauge issue. It may have been reading enough fuel... when it was empty. The jury remains out.
If anyone is out in Vint Hill are of Virginia, Francis Gary Powers, Jr. has a really cool Cold War museum there. He is also a great speaker and does talks on the Cold War.
FGP Sr. was a great pilot and his story is Cold War... incredible. His fatal chopper crash was, probably, just the result of mechanical error. Sad.
And seriously, if you want FGP jr. to do a talk or similar... he is a great historian. Let me know and I'll introduce you!
Sirhr
Did it fail because maintenance was all “whirlybirds and shit?”
Just wondering. “Hola, I can fix choppers because I maintained my own ‘74 El Camino,
Jefe.”
It is a valid question.
Sirhr
we can save money by ordering this part from Chyna
They will figure it out rather quickly i think because they have most of the parts eg you can look a shaft for bluing where it broke off [heat] or a failed bearing farthest away from oil pump . Very important is the maintenance records too , The failure might of happened rather fast giving the pilot no time to descend or auto rotate before it broke .....maintenance or pilot error
This had to be a parts failure. Maintenance records will show whether it was properly maintained. Should be easy get to the bottom of this. Horrible loss of life for everyone involved. Prayers.
Maintenance records coming out.. @Sniperwannabee
AS mentioned above and in another article; said most likely the 'Jesus nut' probably failed.
"Investigators will also explore the maintenance history of the crashed helicopter, focusing on whether two recently issued FAA safety airworthiness orders for Bell 206L models were properly followed.
However, data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed the ill-fated aircraft experienced a mechanical issue, particularly with its transmission assembly, back in September, the New York Post reported.
The first directive, issued in December 2022, required inspections - and, if needed, replacements - of the models' main rotor blades due to a problem called 'delamination'."
www.dailymail.co.uk
AS mentioned above and in another article; said most likely the 'Jesus nut' probably failed.
"Investigators will also explore the maintenance history of the crashed helicopter, focusing on whether two recently issued FAA safety airworthiness orders for Bell 206L models were properly followed.
However, data from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) showed the ill-fated aircraft experienced a mechanical issue, particularly with its transmission assembly, back in September, the New York Post reported.
The first directive, issued in December 2022, required inspections - and, if needed, replacements - of the models' main rotor blades due to a problem called 'delamination'."
Helicopter that crashed into Hudson River had issue just months ago
The New York City helicopter that plunged into the frigid waters of the Hudson River, killing all six people onboard, had experienced mechanical issues months before breaking apart midair.
One picture I saw looked like the top case on the transmission unassed the area. Rotor head and mast were still together, but looked like the mast bearing and top case attached???
Similar threads
