permison Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Spoke with DP and it's not one of Heliops ships. We don't know who yet but both Instructor and student walked away from the crash and are believed to be ok. From the Denver post. A flight instructor and student have been located on Mount Morrison after signaling the helicopter they were flying was in trouble. The two appear to have suffered minor injuries, said Jacki Kelley, spokeswoman for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Rescue crews are on their way to the site, Kelley said. "I don't know whether it was a crash or a hard landing," Kelley said. The Federal Aviation Administration called the Sheriff's office after receiving a Mayday call from the chopper at about 7:40 a.m. Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14818659...s#ixzz0k9Aldxu0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyNHighNFast Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Sounds like a successful auto. No fatalities is always a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisster Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 Does anyone know what kind of ship it was? Swisster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
permison Posted April 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 I think DP said it was a 300. Not sure whose. Here is the update. The crash site is a couple of miles from me. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14818659 Rescuers took two men who this morning survived a helicopter crash on Mount Morrison to a hospital with minor injuries. A flight instructor and student were flying the privately-owned helicopter when they sent out a distress call at about 7:40 a.m., said Jacki Kelley, Jefferson County Sheriff's spokeswoman. The pair originally thought they were going down near the north parking lot at Red Rocks State Park, said Cindy Matthews, spokeswoman for West Metro Fire Rescue The helicopter crashed in rough terrain on the 7,881 foot tall peak near Tower and Grapevine Roads. A Flight for Life air ambulance helicopter spotted the downed chopper on private property on the side of the mountain and guided rescuers to the site. "It was quite a hike to get into it," Kelley said. Rescuers reached the pair, who haven't been identified, at about 8:15 a.m. The two men suffered lacerations to their heads and hands, Matthews said. "There was heavy crash damage. There was fire at one point, but it was extinguished. It sounds like these folks were very fortunate," Matthews said. The two were taken to Swedish Southwest Emergency Center in Littleton. Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies are securing the area of the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident. Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14818659#ixzz0k9UttAvO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkyMtnHI Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 It was a Schweizer 300c, trying to land at 7800'.. i had a photo flight scheduled in our R44 at the same time just three miles away from the crash site but cancelled it due to winds... or we would have been in the air too. can't imagine what they were doing up there in a 300.. glad the pilots are ok, i understand there was a fire that was extinguished... there is a helo pad in that area for the cell towers that has claimed a couple of piston ships over the years... dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RagMan Posted April 4, 2010 Report Share Posted April 4, 2010 (edited) There is only one way to find out the ship's limitations Glad the crew is alright. Wonder who the operator was? Edited April 4, 2010 by RagMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADRidge Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 It was a Schweizer 300c, trying to land at 7800'.. Man, that just doesn't even SOUND like something I'd want to do. But then again, I'm a dumb flat-lander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelliBoy Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 7800' could very well fall within the IGE hover charts for a 300 depending on the load and OAT. Max operating is 8,000 DA. Obviously things went pear shaped for these two, but it doesnt mean the aircraft wasnt capable of it. The high winds and misreading thereof were probably more of a factor than the altitude alone. Glad everyones ok. The 300 is undoubtedly the most crashworthy machine in its class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300Chris Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 Glad that they were both O.K. Will be intersteing to see what the final NTSB report says. The DA was probably above 8000' given the weather, so they were really at the outer edge of the performance envelope. Looking at the photos shows just how robust the little 300 actually is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beckwith Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 It wasn't from rotors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 It wasn't from any school in the immediate Denver area, one further north. as far as that LZ is concerned, its doable in a 300C. It is definatley the definition of pinnacle up there though. be interesting to see or hear further details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ADRidge Posted April 5, 2010 Report Share Posted April 5, 2010 I'm only familiar with the 300CBi and remember seeing the scuffed runway at boulder from Summit's old ships struggling to get airborne at MGW on a spring day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDHelicopterPilot Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Don't forget the conditions under which those performance charts are created with. This is the second post in a few weeks to bring up performance and high altitude operations. Just because you plan on landing on a surface and not hovering OGE doesn't mean you shouldn't use your OGE performance numbers for the landing. Consideration must be given for the surface conditions of the LZ. The effects of ground effect change with different types of surfaces. Could this have been a factor in the incident? JD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RkyMtnHI Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 http://www.coloradoconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=439257 dp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MileHi480B Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 ACCORDING TO MY SOURCES:Jesse Whitsett, CFI and Michael McDonald,student of Fort Collins rented the 300 from Front Range Helicopters in Loveland (owned by Don Griffith). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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