Mikemv Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 To All, I woke up this AM still thinking about our loss of ADRidge & keeping good thoughts for the recovery of Jeffory Walker. I received this link from HAI today in their daily e-mail to me. http://www.rotor.com/Publications/HAIVideosLibrary/SurvivingtheWiresEnvironment.aspx So, for all of us, experienced or not, view the video and continue to work towards being both professional and safe in all our helicopter flight operations. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick1128 Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 To All, I woke up this AM still thinking about our loss of ADRidge & keeping good thoughts for the recovery of Jeffory Walker. I received this link from HAI today in their daily e-mail to me. http://www.rotor.com...nvironment.aspx So, for all of us, experienced or not, view the video and continue to work towards being both professional and safe in all our helicopter flight operations. Mike For all the pilots out there keep in mind that the fatality rate doubles at night and/or poor weather. And wire strike accidents are not normally a low time pilot accident. The biggest eye opener is that about half the pilots KNEW the wires were there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yzchopper Posted June 14, 2012 Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 Mike, Thank you for sharing. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DS_HMMR Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 To All, I woke up this AM still thinking about our loss of ADRidge & keeping good thoughts for the recovery of Jeffory Walker. I received this link from HAI today in their daily e-mail to me. http://www.rotor.com...nvironment.aspx So, for all of us, experienced or not, view the video and continue to work towards being both professional and safe in all our helicopter flight operations. Mike watched it. liked it. thank you. DH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM5 Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 Thanks for the link. Given the thread topic, I thought this video would be relevant for discussion. Is it just me, or is this guy out of his f*kn mind executing RTT maneuvers within 10 feet of these wires? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XTEYRPdgAw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pohi Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 It's an AG pilot doing AG turns. I think by definition, they are out of their mind :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikemv Posted June 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 To me he looked safe in that he had obviously identified the hazard (wires) and had numerous reference points to their location (poles and road). I would have considered spraying a section parallel to the wires & rolling irrigation set up first if acceptable? Overall, to me, his distance from the obstacle for the task at hand was both recognized and handled well. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM5 Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 To me he looked safe in that he had obviously identified the hazard (wires) and had numerous reference points to their location (poles and road). I would have considered spraying a section parallel to the wires & rolling irrigation set up first if acceptable? Overall, to me, his distance from the obstacle for the task at hand was both recognized and handled well. Mike He did seem to know his reference points, and was obviously proficient at flying. My first thought was also to have flown parallel to the lines instead of perpendicular. I guess it comes down to risk management and ADM. My instructors have instilled in me a habit of always thinking ahead of the "What if..." scenarios. I personally would feel a bit nervous getting that close to those wires and would likely try to spray that field in another direction if I could. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightsta1ker Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 He did seem to know his reference points, and was obviously proficient at flying. My first thought was also to have flown parallel to the lines instead of perpendicular. I guess it comes down to risk management and ADM. My instructors have instilled in me a habit of always thinking ahead of the "What if..." scenarios. I personally would feel a bit nervous getting that close to those wires and would likely try to spray that field in another direction if I could. It's not always possible to fly parallel to wires and often times there are wires on all for sides of a field. Crop dusters LIVE in the wire environment. It is a part of what they do every day and they know it. There is a reason it is so dangerous and a difficult part of the industry to get into. Anyone planning on getting into any kind of agricultural work with helicopters needs to be informed about techniques for avoiding wires. Great post Mike. I plan on putting this link up on our website and facebook page. I always include wire avoidance in my instruction but perhaps it would be good to include a specific lesson plan into my syllabus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBuzzkill Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsey Posted June 17, 2012 Report Share Posted June 17, 2012 UNDER the wires?! Oh HELL naw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akscott60 Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Finding wires at the edge of the field under NVGs is a religious experience. Especially when your disc is a whole 10 feet away or so, and it looks like someone put them there just to kill helicopters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM5 Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ekyNGnl0MA Okay THAT guy is out of his fkn mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightsta1ker Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I see dusters do this all the time. Out of his mind... maybe. I thought that was a job requirement... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 How about landing in the wire environment? Still working on the exit strategy. These guys are very lucky so far... not sure how long that landing gear can hold up though.(image "stolen" from Chopper Amber's Face book post) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikemv Posted June 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) To All, Would you believe that the wire strike rate is higher for airplanes than it is for helicopters? I am serious. One of our Forum members, Rick1128, has been instrumental in educating a lot of us to this fact and has gotten the FAA to add "Wire Strikes" as an area of special emphasis in the June 1, 2012 Airplane PVT & Comm PTS revisions! Thank you Rick1128 for your continued efforts in education & safety. Mike Edited June 19, 2012 by Mikemv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCM5 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 More relevant material - just saw this one on Reddit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary-mike Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Mike This is a serious problem, and the inspiration for this post is tragic. I am sickened by our loss, thanks for highlighting this problem. There has not been a day since I heard of his passing that Andrew and what took him hasn't crossed my mind. I hope my post wasn't too out of context... We all try to deal with things differently. DAMN, I wish ADRidge could add his comments once again! Really missing you buddy! Keep flying with us ADRidge, you got your own wings now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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