Drill Ship Down.....

[rainman]

I was there about 2hours after the fact with the customer flying over the accident scene. The pilot who I will leave annonymous did a great job in a very bad situation. 1-2 seconds to figure it out and react happens very fast indeed. All in all the machine didn't fare too bad considering. Blades all stayed on and fueselage is intact if not a bit dented up here and there. All in all a good landing considering he had to make his own pad in 6o ft trees. Very happy he's Okay!

 

Cheers

[Jay Flight]

it would be nice for us newbees to hear his story once things have settled down for him!!

[Roemer]

Sorry it took me so long to reply..........life got (gets) in the way...

 

I just wanted to thank all you guys for the comments. Really lifted my opinion of the industry...I guess the people are the industry.

 

Thanks all..

[w squared]

I've spent a lot of time underneath helicopters operating on seismic jobs, and although I'm at best an enthusiatic amateur when it comes to helicopters, I'd like to chime in with the rest of the folks here.

 

#1.I'm VERY pleased to hear that nobody was seriously injured.

 

#2.Kudos to the pilot for extracting himself safely from what could have been a very, very ugly incident. Drills and helicopters can be replaced...and they don't have families. If the terrain justifies using heli-drills, then we already know that it's a long way from ideal when it comes to picking a spot for a forced landing. Well done!

 

#3.If the pilot in question (or a friend of his that is active here) feels comfortable with doing so, I'd be eager to hear about the incident. Not to offer criticism in any way of the decisions made, but to learn anything I can from it. Any chance one gets to learn from other's experiences is a chance to avoid learning those same lessons "the hard way".

[Misunderstood]

Other forums I frequent, the members freely discuss incidents and accidents because people can learn. But because this industry is so cutthroat and many incidents lead to slander of the individual (whether warranted or not) I don't blame guys from keeping their mouths closed. Everything he did right was likely from excellent training and his actions were second nature to him. But I beleive you can't just read someones account of it and make your game better. You have to react, as if its happened a zillion times before, and hope and pray it all comes together. in his case it did.

 

So count your horshoes over a beer and enjoy it.

[Rotorboy2]

Good to hear the pilot and everyone on the ground is okay. That is all that matters. Sounds like it could have been a whole lot worse.