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AweMan

AweMan

Jedi Knight
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This Bird doesn`t have one of my mechanics stamps on it!
Being assigned to a texas unit i`m almost sure it went through C.C.A.D. {where I retired from} for some repairs at one point in it`s life.
Hellicopter crash
 
I hope no ones was too badly hurt and that they all recover quickly.

I wonder... do you think an Aggie was flying it? :devilgrin: :jester:
 
aweman, i know just how you feel, sometimes i lay n bed thinking about the mods i installed while at grumman aerospace in the late 70,s, havnt gotten a call yet, hate to see em punch my "ticket"
 
I understand there was one fatality. Crew.

As it's an Apache, we'll likely never know the "why" of it.

Rotor-wing aircraft were just DESIGNED to kill ya.
 
doc, i took a couple of girls i know for a chopper ride from the wall st. heliport in n.y.c., it was fun, howerever the next day the same pilot and ship crashed in the east river killing the pilot and an australian couple on honey moon. if i recall a chopper requires somthin like 10 times the maint. of a fixed wing aircraft.
 
Civilian helicopters are very safe as long as they are maintained properly and flown by the book! That's what the book is for. Problems usually stem from the book being disregarded. That includes maintenance and pilot error.

Military helocopters are very safe also and very well built, but comes under a lot more stress than it's civilian cousin.

I'd rather be in either one than be on any freeway at 5 oclock in the evening! Much, much safer.
happy0159.gif
 
Not a helicopter story, but one on how people react to the unexpected.

The USS Bainbridge was a nuclear powered cruiser. On night, during engineering drills, the charging station watch was instructed to start a charging pump. At the same time he pressed the start button, there was an accident that prompted the reactor operator to start the emergency fill system. Instead of just one pump starting, all three started as did the two 50hp, five stage low pressure pumps to his right. Valves closed and opened all around him.

His reaction to all this, was to take a rag out of his pocket and wipe his finger print off the start button he had just pushed.

No damage was done, but Rickover paid us a visit upon returning to port.
 
Ray:
Who ever`s fingerprints {Mechanic stamp} is on that Bird right about now is wishing he/she could wipe them off I assure you!
They are Nervous Nellies wondering if the cause of the crash is a mechanical failure and if so was it due to any part of that Bird they worked on.
Everything done to Military Helicopters by All of the mechanics is documented By what is termed a traveler {paperwork that goes along the repair route with the part} that must be stamped by the mechanics at each station. It tells what was done, by whom, on what day and time. It also tells who inspected what parts, who installed and tested them, what the test results were. And much much more.
Everyone involved is hoping for Pilot error, weather conditions or anything other than mechanical being the cause of the crash.
Our shop was involved in engine parts repair and every time a bird crashed you could cut the silence in our shop with a knife until the final results came in as to the cause.
Luckily, I was never involved in being responsible for any crashes BUT I held my breath plenty of times.
 
The welding done on the high pressure (2,000 lbs) side of the nuclear plant was also well documented. The welder would put down a bead, then it would be x-rayed, then ground down, and the process repeated until the work was done. We never had a failure attributed to this type of maintenance.

But then again the ship did not fly.
 
Kerry, even commercial aircraft paperwork is documented at least with Boeing right from who issued the raw material and all the manufacturing of that part until it was finaled by Q.A. and put in the stock room.
 
weewillie said:
Kerry, even commercial aircraft paperwork is documented at least with Boeing right from who issued the raw material and all the manufacturing of that part until it was finaled by Q.A. and put in the stock room.
Click to expand...

I have a friend that makes all kinds of crazy fasteners.
He went through some 'old school' tool & die apprenticeship when everyone else was going to college.
Now his 'obsolete' skills are in demand on account of there not being many professional machinists.
Some of his bolts are on the space shuttle.

He said he'll get a Pelican case with a 3 ring binder & a teeny-weeny piece of metal inside with instructions.

Crazy stuff!
 
I'm sure my "fingerprint" is on some nuclear app tubing in several Navy vessels. Always gave me goose bumps. Q.C. inspector.
 
if i may weigh in on this subject as a commercially licenced helicopter pilot with 5000+ hrs of PIC (pilot in command) time, i'd agree with Paul161 that helicopters both civilian and military (Blackhawk in this case) are very safe if flown according to the published limits according to type. they are extremely complicated peices of machinery that are well designed and well built. indeed maintenance is a key factor and depending on the type (# of engines, IFR vs VFR, etc etc etc) the time required for appropriate maintenace varies greatly however, if you are operating an aircraft that is built by one of the major manufacturers (sikorsky, Eurocopter (my preference), Bell, Agusta etc) you can be sure that you are as safe as circumstances allow. just like vehicles they are subject to mechanical issues which in most circumstances can be handled by a competent pilot(s) depending if timing, abilities and, conditions allow for it. indeed i am not ranting at you guys but the press love to cover these types of accidents because they make good pictures and most of the public find this kind of coverage to be of interest. as a helicopter pilot who has lost friends in accidents that occured under circumstances where the blame can be placed on both pilot/maintenace and machine i still feel safer in the pilot seat than i do in rush hour traffic around toronto or detroit. indeed, if i didn't i wouldn't do this:
IMG_0385.jpg

btw, that is me up top and there is a guy at the bottom.
sorry, i had to get this off me chest and my sympathies to the crew involved the accident at texas A&M.
cheers
c74
 
charlie74 said:
if i may weigh in on this subject as a commercially licenced helicopter pilot with 5000+ hrs of PIC (pilot in command) time, i'd agree with Paul161 that helicopters both civilian and military (Blackhawk in this case) are very safe if flown according to the published limits according to type. they are extremely complicated peices of machinery that are well designed and well built. indeed maintenance is a key factor and depending on the type (# of engines, IFR vs VFR, etc etc etc) the time required for appropriate maintenace varies greatly however, if you are operating an aircraft that is built by one of the major manufacturers (sikorsky, Eurocopter (my preference), Bell, Agusta etc) you can be sure that you are as safe as circumstances allow. just like vehicles they are subject to mechanical issues which in most circumstances can be handled by a competent pilot(s) depending if timing, abilities and, conditions allow for it. indeed i am not ranting at you guys but the press love to cover these types of accidents because they make good pictures and most of the public find this kind of coverage to be of interest. as a helicopter pilot who has lost friends in accidents that occured under circumstances where the blame can be placed on both pilot/maintenace and machine i still feel safer in the pilot seat than i do in rush hour traffic around toronto or detroit. indeed, if i didn't i wouldn't do this:
Click to expand...

happy0034-1.gif
thankyousign.gif
 
Just think of him as a guy with a lot of guts! It's a very dangerous job and takes team work between him and the pilot. One mistake and he's dead! The dangerous part is neutralizing the static charge between the chopper and the wires. After that, it's business as usual. Same technique when he gets back on the AC.
 
that is an interesting vid. those guys will have to have a lot of trust in each other and in their training. i've never done that type of work and i'm not sure i'd like to as flying around wires presents many hazards, however, being a commercial operation in an industry as regulated as aviation, you can bet that the risks are mitigated as much as possible.
regards
c74
 
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