pamelama Posted April 22 Report Share Posted April 22 I understand that helos are more prone to crashes but no one ever says how much more. Is it 2x? 3x? or fraction of that? No disrespect meant by this question, I am truly curious. Edit: is there any statistics kept on this type of information? uno online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotornut Posted April 23 Report Share Posted April 23 Helicopters do tend to crash more. I always figured that as a flying machine flown correctly a helicopter should crash less than a fixed wing. You can after all land just about anywhere if you encounter a problem. Have a chip light or a malfunctioning indicator, just land and check things out maybe wait for help if needed. Weather starting to deteriorate? Land and wait for it to clear. Fuel running out due to headwinds etc.? Land and wait for a solution. All this being said helicopters do crash and the reason tends to be poor decisions by the humans involved. Helicopters and the people around them suffer greatly when poor decisions are made. Poor decisions can be made by regulators, management, dispatcher, maintenance personnel etc. but the final decision normally rests with the PIC. Fly safe, make good decisions and you will have a great career no matter what route you take. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theopker Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 In comparison, airplanes (general aviation) have an accident rate of 7.28 accidents per 100,000 flight hours. This means helicopters have a roughly 35% higher chance of experiencing an accident compared to airplanes. Slope Accident rates can also vary depending on the type of helicopter operation. For instance, commercial helicopter operations tend to have lower accident rates than private or instructional flights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 I've been in the helicopter industry almost 20 yrs and have lost an amazing friend to a crash in bad weather. Had another guy I grew up with crash and killed due to a misunderstanding of the aircraft flight control system. Another of my co-workers crashed and got really hurt due to a mechanical/maintenance issue. On the fixed wing side I was out on fires where we lost the bird dog flown by a kid I grew up with because he was showing off for an audience on the ground. I myself have on occasion in the early days made poor decisions pushing the weather in which I almost paid with my life. I've had every kind of chip light known to mankind, had a 407 engine bearing grenade and two separate single engine failures in 212's. Thankfully all resulted in successful landings with no injuries to crew. I think a lot of experienced helicopter pilots will have similar stories tell. In my opinion utility aviation is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. I've been out of the private sector for a few yrs but I think the pay has finally caught up to the risks involved and the adventures one will have flying a helicopter sure beat an office job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool pilot Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 I flew for 36 yrs and never tried that crashing idea. I had numerous chip lights and many hydraulic failures and I like everyone else who is a pilot can swap stories about how bad we scared ourselfs with weather......the secret here is...... Learn to say "No" politely, stand by your gut feeling and ....if you find a owner who says fly it like it is or your fired. CHOOSE FIRED EVERY TIME. I QUIT works also. And being fired by a few of the companies out there..... well it is a good thing on a resume. Your life is worth more than any body putting money before your safety. Be safe and go home often. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UggaDugga Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 3 hours ago, Pool pilot said: Your life is worth more than any body putting money before your safety. Be safe and go home often. Ok ok let's not drag another thread into the vax debate! Just kidding but that IS great advice incase AstraZeneca magically becomes "safe and effective" again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool pilot Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 2 hours ago, UggaDugga said: Ok ok let's not drag another thread into the vax debate! Just kidding but that IS great advice incase AstraZeneca magically becomes "safe and effective" again Are you sitting with Longline over there. I think you missed the point. LoL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestone Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 Bad things mostly happen when aircraft are close to the ground and helicopters spend a large percentage of their time close to the ground and off field landing rank among the most dangerous! I remember back in the day... ha ha, I did more than 70 off field landing bumping around three crews down in Conklin landing on cut lines and in swamps and hover exiting crews on beaver dams etc. On the flip side, a fixed wing guy with rare exceptions, land on tarmac or be still my beating heart, a gravel strip. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pool pilot Posted June 28 Report Share Posted June 28 A real aircraft comes to a complete stop before it lands. Lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruggedpilot Posted June 29 Report Share Posted June 29 An airplane pilot is someone that is interested in aviation, but just doesn't have the balls to do it... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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