r22butters Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2018/01/26/plane-helicopter-crash-northern-colorado-airport-leaves-1-injured/1070589001/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 I hate airports, traffic patterns full of 'semi-piloted' ant-aircraft cruise missiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helicodger pilot Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 (edited) Yep, this is messed up, and I also avoid runways as much as possible but don't be too quick to assign blame. 91.113(g) is going to get parsed 6 ways from Sunday on this. Did the Bonanza pilot cut his pattern too close and not leave enough spacing behind the R-44, or did the R-44 pilot dawdle on the runway too long- something a FW on a missed approach couldn't do and which might have surprised the Bonanza guy. I'm not even gonna make a guess, but these poor guys definitely had a failure to communicate despite the fact that they were talking to each other on CTAF.The thing about traffic patterns is that like a dance, they depend on everyone moving in expected, predictable ways. FW pilots don't always know what to expect from helicopters which is why I try my best to "avoid the flow of fixed-wing aircraft". Anyway, I'm glad all parties survived and I hope the "minor injuries" are truly minor... Edited January 28, 2018 by helicodger pilot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r22butters Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Back during my instrument training I always got a little more nervous when my instructor wanted to shoot approaches from a stacked holding pattern at this one particular non-towered airport. All that radio work and positioning trusted to just us joe blow pilots,...but I guess at least I had him sitting next to me to watch out for everyone else visually while I stared at the gauges from under the hood. This R44 guy seemed to be alone (unless I missed something) so I doubt he was under a hood, but still, using the runway at a non-towered airport is always risky for us choppers! ,...sh*t one time I called in that I was downwind for 24, when like a minute later some douch in a jet says he's straight in for 6! No tower, stay away from the runway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 The Bonanza pilot should not have gone around and overflown the helicopter, under any circumstance. When executing a go-around, he should have sidestepped and passed to the right of the helicopter, in a position where he could see the helicopter out his left window. He should also have executed a rapid climb to pattern altitude. If the Bonanza pilot misjudged his approach, or planned his approach thinking that the R44 woiuld be up and away before arrival, fair enough, but there is no reason for an aircraft arriving at a runway in use should creating a conflict. It appears that the Bonanza pilot did not understand what the helicopter pilot meant when the R44 pilot said he would be going missed...but there's no question that the R44 pilot had the right of way. He was on the approach, lower, and the runway was still in use by the R44...not the Bonanza. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudkow60 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 When I taught IFR in the military, we stressed the importance of not using instrument terms on the comms with non IFR folks. Maybe the airplane did not know what a missed approach was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avbug Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 When I taught IFR in the military, we stressed the importance of not using instrument terms on the comms with non IFR folks. Maybe the airplane did not know what a missed approach was. That's entirely possible. Likewise, those making instrument approaches, whether under IFR or training approaches, need to consider their blind position reports on the CTAF. Instead of saying "Inbound at BILKO," local traffic needs to know 7.5 miles northwest at 5,000.' Unless the others are instrument pilots looking at a chart, they shouldn't be expected to know where BILKO is. Conversely, I hear a lot of local pilots using landmarks which the tribe knows, but no one else would. Cherryair Five Three Donkeynuts is over Farmerbrown's tall cow, be makin' the left downwind near the pond. Huh? How about just four west for the left down wind to runway 31. For those who did understand executing a missed approach, the helicopter pilot's language was unspecific. I'm going to go down a little closer and have a look, then probably go missed. That didn't help. Regardless of the helicopter pilot's actions or what he said (or didn't say), the Bonanza pilot shouldn't have overflown the R44 or lost sight of the R44 when going around, and should have sidestepped right to keep the R44 in sight...and would have been far better off extending his down wind and taking enough time to allow the R44 to do what it needed to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted January 31, 2018 Report Share Posted January 31, 2018 (edited) If that Bonanza pilot was so far up the R-44s ass that he had to worry about how slow the R-44 was going, he was wrong and that should have been his first clue to go around. Once he did go around, he was so damn close that he had to go over the top?! It should have never gotten to that point regardless of what the helicopter did. This isn't Atlanta International, there's no reason to maintain minimal spacing and another traffic pattern would only add a few minutes to his flight and keep everyone safe. Instead he was fixated on finishing his landing and it caused an accident. Edited January 31, 2018 by SBuzzkill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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