... according to BBC here (and in the papers).
licence was 2.5 years out of date and his type rating for that type of helicopter was also out of date. According to the Times, he also hadn't
asked permission to take his son's friend on the flight
oops
I went right off going in real heli's once I learnt to fly r/c ones. Damn fragile things that crash at any opportunity. I even bought a book call
'Fatal traps for helicopter pilots and then there really was no way I was going up in one
That's not going to be a good state of affairs all round - more distress to come for the families I fear ...
If you read the complete crash report from the AAIB it basically shows that in the two flights preceeding the crash he was doing low level
"stunt" flying with his passengers onboard... luckily there is video footage to prove this...
On his final flight he must have been playing the same game... and that is what the radar and GPS mapping shows...
He dived down into the river valley, went to pull up steeply to pop over the trees to his house and screwed up.... Breaking douzens of laws...
As a pilot I find it pretty disgusting and irresponsible behaviour...you can have fun...but not so much that it kills you!
well really its irresponsible cos it wasn't just his life he was risking. Unfortunately it sounds like he was just showing off
I would think the implication re insurance would bankrupt the family, no doubt colins life insurance company are looking into this.
It makes the hole episode even more tragic
What a total bloody idiot, I don't care how good a driver he was, no licence and the wrong helicopter and flying like a twat ..... and with other people on board - could he have been any more reckless?
A 'seat stick interface problem' as my RAF mates put it..... doesn't bring any of them back though.
Chris
Really disappointing news!
Interesting how this thread has (not) developed... had it been anyone but McRae, then we would have been on Page 10 by now voicing our anger, etc.
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Interesting how this thread has (not) developed... had it been anyone but McRae, then we would have been on Page 10 by now voicing our anger, etc.
Having watched footage taken from rally cars driving though forests, it's obvious that anyone who would do that sort of driving is either an
adrenaline junkie, or very stupid and could not predict the effect of hitting a tree at those speeds.
Fair to assume that McRae got off on extreme danger, and that carrying over into his flying should not surprise anyone
Jophn
quote:
Originally posted by scootz
Interesting how this thread has (not) developed... had it been anyone but McRae, then we would have been on Page 10 by now voicing our anger, etc.
I tried to google "servo transparency phenomenon" - some copters have hydraulics to help the pilot, but they can only push a certain amount.
If the pilot loads them too much they stop pushing, and they feel as though they've frozen, but in fact the pilot's feeling the full load
without assistance.
A bit like driving a car with power steering, and suddenly the power assistance stops working - you can still turn the wheels, but it takes a huge
amount of effort.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I tried to google "servo transparency phenomenon" - some copters have hydraulics to help the pilot, but they can only push a certain amount. If the pilot loads them too much they stop pushing, and they feel as though they've frozen, but in fact the pilot's feeling the full load without assistance.
A bit like driving a car with power steering, and suddenly the power assistance stops working - you can still turn the wheels, but it takes a huge amount of effort.
We were in Nairn having attended the funeral of a cousin on 'that' morning.
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I tried to google "servo transparency phenomenon" - some copters have hydraulics to help the pilot, but they can only push a certain amount. If the pilot loads them too much they stop pushing, and they feel as though they've frozen, but in fact the pilot's feeling the full load without assistance.
Otherwise known as jack-stall... Fairly common in that type of helicopter when you do pushovers.... which is exactly what he was doing...
Had he been regularly trained on that helicopter he would have been made aware of what can happen when the servo goes transparent...
Stupid Stupid Tw@t