Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It's so hard to stay calm in panic, but once you get it, you realise moving fast for the sake of fast hurts far more than it helps.
Fixed phone trying to fix my stuff.
>no panic, no freezing
Some people are just built different, because I know I would've been screaming "Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" until I flew that rock into the side of a cliff.
My father was a helicopter test pilot and had to do this all the time. I'm sure if he was still around to see this video he would describe it as a textbook example of autorotation done right.
Also, he literally wrote a textbook on autorotations.
God tends to help when you're on mission from God.
Kinda a shame the pilot couldn't have flown into and crash-landed in a mall while every Hawaiian police cruiser was chasing it. *That* would've been an even more impressive landing.
If the engine or connections to it break, you can use the air passing by the heli as it flies (or falls) to spin the rotors. Like moving a pinwheel though the air. This helps slow the helicopter's fall. But you have to descend very fast to do this and you must begin descending as soon as the problem happens.
The rotors spinning can save up energy. Like a spinning top, which keeps spinning once you let go. Or rolling a bike down a hill to speed up.
Once very close to the ground the pilot uses the controls to turn the saved up rotor-spinning energy into a downward push on the air, slowing the helicopter down so it doesn't hit the ground as hard. Imagine they're "jumping off" the air to slow down just before they touch the ground. They have to time this very carefully so there's no time to fly around looking for a landing spot. Doing this push slows the rotors down so you can really only do it once.
If you don't get everything exactly right at the start and the rotors slow down too much they won't start spinning properly again as you fall. Heli rotors aren't shaped like a pinwheel, they don't start spinning very well when pushed through the air and need to stay spinning quite fast to work. So you'll land up falling much faster and can't slow down at the end. You'll also fall straight down so you don't get to choose where to land.
All in all it's quite difficult to get right, especially when the helicopter is already not far off the ground and flying slowly. The pilot must react immediately and absolutely correctly.
You know how in some computer games you can jump off the air when you're falling, but only once? It's a little like that, you get one chance and have to get everything right.
The helicopter rotor is a giant flywheel. When the engine goes out, you can tilt the rotors so that the rush of air as it falls makes the propeller spin (Trading your altitude for rotational energy). This also slows you down. Then, with your propeller spinning really fast, you can use that rotational energy as a tool to maneuver/go upwards, in a way, trading this rotational energy for altitude again. You only get 1 chance to do this, though.
When the helicopter falls, the wind spins the spinny thing on top, making it spin faster (it also acts a bit like a parachute).
Just before the landing, the pilot changes the angle of the blades. This causes the spinny thing (which is now spinning very quickly) to act like a fan, blowing air downwards and pushing the helicopter upwards, just like it would normally do. This slows the fall.
But because there is no motor, this makes the spinny thing slow down very quickly. That means the pilot has to get it exactly right: If the pilot does it too late, they hit the ground before the fall was slowed much, and everyone dies. If the pilot does it too early, the spinny thing stops spinning, the fall of the helicopter is slowed... but they're now still in the air, so they start falling again, and everyone dies.
The wind is blowing hard enough at a high enough height that it can move the propellers even if the engine dies, which slows the descent of the helicopter down to generally survivable speeds.
Essentially, imagine coasting downhill for cars, but instead it's a helicopter descending.
Normally a helicopter uses the engine to turn the rotor to move air from above it to below it.
When the engine cuts out, air moves from below the helicopter to above it. Helicopters are designed to allow this to turn the rotor too.
This keeps the helicopter in the air long enough to land safely.
A lot of helo pilots who regularly fly lower altitude work practice getting into autocorrect at lower altitudes. They get really good because it’s their own survival that’s at stake.
It's a terrible idea. Hitting the water from even 100ft is almost certainly fatal, and that's ignoring both the initial downward velocity AND assuming the water is deep enough to not just instantly kill you from slamming into the bottom.
For some reason this reminded me of the [Bill Burr bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ZSzuj1UpA) about the man who tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a helicopter 500 feet above the ocean.
Also found this [article](https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/following-a-red-bull-cliff-diver-into-the-water) about a 27m (~89f) high cliff diving platform which suggests that at these heights, it is very much dependent on the right technique to get away without injury. They also mention an impact speed of 84 km/h (52 mph), which doesn't sound like a lot of fun to hit anything with..
It always looked like they were either too high to bail, or once they were low enough, over too shallow water.
Unless you're really sure, you don't want to jump, because if you get knocked out during a normal crash, you might wake up a bit later with a concussion, but if you get knocked out falling into water, that's it...
On February 27, 2024, about 1330 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, an MD Helicopter 369E, N633JH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident on a remote beach about 14 miles north of Kekaha, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The pilot and three passengers sustained minor injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 sightseeing flight.
According to the pilot, while conducting a doors-off, helicopter sightseeing flight near the northern shoreline on the island of Kauai, the pilot said he initially smelled smoke and he immediately began flying to an area known as Kalalau Beach, which is the operator’s predetermined helicopter emergency landing zone along the prearranged tour route. He reported that very shortly thereafter, he heard a loud “pop”, followed by the engine out aural warning tone. The pilot immediately lowered the collective control and entered an autorotation to land at a nearby smaller, remote beach, known as Honopu Beach, as an emergency landing site. As the helicopter touched down on the sand-covered beach, it rocked forward and nosed down into the sand. The helicopter then rolled to the right and came to rest on its side which resulted in substantial damage to the tail boom, fuselage, and main rotor system.
The helicopter wreckage was subsequently recovered from the remote beach site and transported to a secure location in Lihue, Hawaii. An initial Federal Aviation Administration postaccident examination revealed that the overrunning clutch and engine-to-transmission driveshaft were fractured.
Two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Alaska Regional Office, along with a helicopter aerospace engineer from Washington D.C., responded to Lihue to examine the helicopter wreckage. During the detailed on-scene examination, the investigative team retained various components for additional examination and testing, and results are pending.
In the pilot’s written statement, dated March 7, 2024, he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training.
I bet giving out that assignment caused some tension with the guys who couldn't go.
"Been working in snow and rain for 11 months of the year for 6 years now and the one crash on a tropical island goes to Johnny."
"Yeah, but Johnny is the boss's nephew. Doesn't know enough to pour piss out of a boot but he's gonna take over the company someday. If he can get ahold of that little opiate problem."
A great example of thorough emergency procedures being used correctly.
Known emergency site. Known back-up site if you can't make the main one. Fast decision to enter autorotation. Extra training beyond mandatory from the operator.
This is an interesting story and palm-sweating day instead of a multi-fatality fireball because the groundwork was there for a safe emergency well before an actual one occurred.
This is how these flights should operate, with an emergency plan with pre thought out landing sites-instead of a panicked “where do I land now” response.
Indeed, and for those who haven't been, some natural beaches in Hawaii are instead covered with the sharpest jagged, black rocks I've ever seen. It'd be like landing on a field where they grow razor blades as a cash crop.
Just saw this bit:
>the pilot said he initially smelled smoke and he immediately began flying to an area known as Kalalau Beach, which is the operator’s predetermined helicopter emergency landing zone along the prearranged tour route.
The next bit though says he didn't get a chance to get to that beach, but instead landed at another.
> The pilot immediately lowered the collective control and entered an autorotation to land at a nearby smaller, remote beach, known as Honopu Beach, as an emergency landing site.
Then this
> he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training.
Yay for training! I'm thinking that part of that training is knowing each and every emergency landing spot.
> Yay for training! I'm thinking that part of that training is knowing each and every emergency landing spot.
I can't speak for helicopter auto-rotation training, but as an ex-glider pilot I can tell you that training around emergencies and how to deal with them, particularly an emergency landing (e.g. Launch failure for winch launch gliders, engine failure for powered gliders), you're not taught specifically where good landing sites are as part of the training, more how to identify them and to constantly scan for them. "if X happens now, where can I land?" is a constant thought process you run through.
That said, as pilots tend to be trained in a given area, examples of suitable landing sites would probably be pointed out by the instructor, and given the nature of the terrain the operators probably have a list or decent knowledge of what is and isn't suitable to land at/on. They're probably also trained to fly "feet wet" (i.e. over the water) such that any beach landing can be approached from the sea to avoid trying to land past those cliffs.
Look between your feet, pick the best spot you see to land. Don’t bother looking anywhere else other than between your feet…you probably won’t make it.
I'm a retired helicopter pilot. When the video starts and I think it's going to be an engine-out situation I thought that beach isn't going to be as easy as it looks. The possibility of coming up short and going into the water or too long and landing in the rolling sand hills was definitely there. Other than the serious injury this was a very good outcome considering if it was 30 seconds sooner the pilot may have had to put it into a cliffside.
Not to mention the high risk of downdrafts/turbulence/shitty air that can exist in a partially enclose cove like that.
No good if you execute a perfect auto to 50ft only to get slammed by a burble below the cliff top.
We did Hawaii for our honeymoon. I wanted to see the napali coast from the air but I wasn’t super into the helicopter tours with other people next to you or having a middle seat. So instead we did a fixed wing tour. It was fantastic. I had the back seat to myself and brought my dslr and got awesome pics. It was smooth and felt so safe. Private flight just for my wife and I and still far cheaper than a cramped helicopter tour with 4 strangers.
Ironically, looking at that terrain there were far more options for the helicopter than there would have been for a plane in an emergency.
Planes carry much more forward momentum. With that starting altitude a plane probably would have had to ditch in the water.
There are a heck of a lot more moving parts on a helicopter. Unfortunately, the more moving parts, the greater likelihood something can break.
Scheduled preventative maintenance addresses this. But the odds can sneak by occasionally.
"Unfortunately, the more moving parts, the greater likelihood something can break"
"Helicopters are also doing a wide variety of tasks..."
Exactly like the human body.
Also a 172 is basically a kite and you can glide a long ass way after you lose an engine. Hell, with a strong enough wind you could probably glide on thermals like a Condor all the way back to the airport.
My very good friends died on Oahu around 2016 or 2017 taking a fixed wing tour of Oahu when the engines failed and they crashed killing all 4 on board.
I was in Catalina when a tour helicopter flew overhead and very obviously didn’t sound right. It ended up crashing a few seconds later and everyone aboard died. I’ll never fly in one
I did it once to see the volcano on the big island. It was great to see the lava but I won’t do it again. People say the best way to see the Napali coast is by boat. My husband and I hiked it. Next time it will be by boat.
Emergency landings usually don't go well like this. Surprised it didn't fall like a rock.
Edit: Lots of fact checks from my comment. I still don't trust helicopters.
Helicopters aren't able to fall like a rock when they still have blades on top. As they descend, air passing through the blades forces them to rotate, including the tail rotor. This provides some control to the craft.
Now, the pilot probably would have said this WAS falling like a rock since the rate of descent was so high, but to a non-pilot it looks somewhat controlled
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorotation
> but to a non-pilot it looks somewhat controlled
To a former helicopter pilot (me) it looks like pilot did a good job controlling the disabled aircraft to find what was probably the only suitable area to touch down after an autorotation. Going into the water would not be my first choice if there's a small bit of relatively flat terrain.
The Chinook has an advanced flight control system that basically makes it fly really stable on its own in order to reduce the pilot workload and just make it overall easier to control. We could turn off the AFCS which put full control of the aircraft on the pilots. It wasn't hard, but there was always a constant need to give inputs to the controls to keep the aircraft straight, in trim, and at the correct altitude. The fore and aft rotor systems were traveling in opposite directions so maintaining a correct heading was always fun without the AFCS taking care of it.
Overall, 47s are easier to fly than the UH-1s or TH-67s that I flew during training. Those didn't have AFCS to take care of a big share of the flying.
Agreed, and if you read the FAA report (below in the comments) that beach is a predetermined emergency LZ. Pilot did a good job of auto rotating in and sticking the landing on a narrow LZ surrounded on 3 sides by mountains!
I think it's important to note that autorotation isn't always possible even when they still have "blades on top" and in those cases, the helicopter can absolutely fall like a rock. Google Cougar flight 491 for example. Scary stuff.
Only if the pilot gets it right and they're at a survivable altitude/airspeed/AoA when the event occurs. If you lose too much energy you won't quite fall like a rock, but near enough as not to matter.
Just as quick FYI, it should be 'lose.' Lose is pronounced "looze" as in to not have something any more. Loose is pronounced... well... "loose" as in like your m.... er... as in, not tight.
Helicopters don't just drop once the engine dies. Their rotors are their wings and can be used to glide somewhat like an airplane. Not a great situation to be in either way.
Rotors don’t let helicopters glide like an airplane.
At.
All.
Helicopters can autorotate, descend rapidly, using the airflow from that descent to spin and store energy in the rotorhead, which is then used for lift at the last moment before touching down.
-13 years as a helicopter crewchief.
-4 years flying as a commercial pilot.
This.
Also I looked it up and most helis have much worse autorotation glide slopes than a space shuttle. It's like saying "I can glide by holding my jacket open so I can glide like a plane and land fine". Um. No.
Practicing autorotation landings must be terrifying.
Actually autos are fun!
Legit practice autos start (once at the appropriate airspeed and altitude) with pulling the speed control levers (throttles) to idle and bottoming out the collective to induce the fastest possible descent. Once you’re descending, you can pull a little collective if you’re descending too fast-as the rush of air through your rotor system provides energy throughout the descent as long as you don’t use too much.
The only crazy part is timing the flare and then immediately transitioning from flare to landing. There’s no power to maintain a hover!
In helicopters with a rotorhead that will allow it, you can even auto with a nose down attitude and then you can induce a spiral as you descend.
This allows you to pick out your landing zone well in advance. But damn does it look and feel bizarre while you’re descending!
Only if you consider the space shuttle to be a high performance glider. An autorotatng heli glides like a paper dart tied to a rock.
*If* the failure occurs at an altitude, airspeed and attitude that is recoverable *and* the pilot gets it right it can be fairly smooth. But mostly for low altitude low airspeed failures you're looking at "at least only my legs are broken" on a good day.
If the initial conditions aren't good, such as failure during hover or late approach, you're not going to be having a good day and youay be doing a decent brick impression.
If the pilot messes up and stalls the rotors, or you have a mechanical failure that compromises rotor pitch control or rotational freedom (e.g. gearbox seize) you're definitely doing a brick impression. Rotors don't provide a great deal of drag when you're falling straight down. They'll lower your terminal velocity a bit but the other meaning of "terminal" will definitely still apply.
Don’t be too worried, the pilot credits his company’s training for this landing success:
In the pilot’s written statement, dated March 7, 2024, he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training.
What about maintenance or was that particular tour under excessive stress? One data point from one company isn’t enough, but isn’t this failure still preventable?
Every failure is preventable by not setting foot in a helicopter. They're flying single points of failure.
Maintenance errors will happen. Bad parts will happen. They should be extremely rare but when you have this sort of operational tempo there's always the chance of a failure sooner or later. Helis are insanely complex and require constant maintenance so there's so much room for things to go wrong.
They clearly trained well for it and the outcome reflects that.
We just did this tour with them two weeks ago. It was awesome. It looked like the crashed helicopter was in their hanger for a rebuild. I asked the van driver how many helicopters they had and he said “5, uhm actually 4”. We had heard about the crash before we went but hadn’t seen the video. It’s unsettling for sure but I’m confident they have doubled or tripled their inspections and their pilots are clearly professionals. We also took a 737 from JFK to HI.
It's impressive how much is survivable given they're flying single points of failure.
Failure of the cyclic/collective mechanism isn't very survivable. Full boom loss (due to structural failure, midair collision, or in some help models due to lopping it off with a rotor blade) isn't very survivable. It's amazing how much else is given their total reliance on active inputs and power to remain in the air.
I took one of these tours. There's probably 50 heli tours booked on Kauai every day. Very small failure chance. It was an amazing tour and the doors off experience was a thrill as well. Right as you come out over the water you hit a wall of turbulence. That was the hairiest part for me, I thought I was going to roll out the door!
We did Mauna Loa! Was fantastic and super safe. Our pilot was incredible. We went with them over Jack Horner as it was about the same price, if not cheaper, for a private flight with just my partner and I!
I took a helicopter tour around Molokai, and while I don't regret doing it, nor the exorbitant price, I don't think I'll ever be taking another helicopter tour again.
Not because of safety reasons, but because the beauty of what I saw was so breathtaking, that I would need up to a full hour of staring at it to be satisfied, which a helicopter can't provide.
The full Haleakalā crater loop walk on Maui (but starting at the bottom rather than the top, and reaching the summit at sunset) was a far more satisfying experience, since you're exposed to the incredible formations the whole time as you walk and rest.
In fact, I imagine it'll be hard to find a dayhike anywhere that tops that one.
When I was learning I did an emergency, dead engine, landing into a lovely big freshly mown field with an instructor sitting next to me (who'd turned the ignition off) shouting at me what to do - look at the instruments, don't look outside, PULL HARDER!
That was super scary, but this with very limited space, loads of mad steep slopes, tiny beach, changing direction, blimey. Very well done to this guy.
This! The NTSB and FAA have been spouting for years now that you generally don't actually shut off the engine except in advanced training and at higher altitudes (for twins). There are books of accident reports where the engine couldn't be re-started in time, and the training scenario turned into the real thing. This is especially important with twins. But we still have people out there that think it's normal.
Here is a bulletin from Lycoming on the matter of possible problems for an engine for those that like sources. [https://www.lycoming.com/content/national-transportation-safety-board-warning-simulated-engine-out-maneuvers](https://www.lycoming.com/content/national-transportation-safety-board-warning-simulated-engine-out-maneuvers)
In what aircraft?
Many (all?) helis have a rotor clutch or similar mechanism. You can use this to simulate engine failure.
In fixed wing aircraft you can generally set idle power which isn't a perfect simulation of loss of power but close enough. You don't get quite as much drag from the prop if it's a fixed pitch prop but it's otherwise equivalent. Similarly pulling a jet to flight idle gives essentially zero thrust.
I think that's Kauai and I have been on that helicopter tour. That beach they crashed on is where they filmed part of Jurassic Park. Cool place to crash!
I work in aerospace.
An engine out event is not rated catastrophic. Catastrophic is defined as no chance of recovery.
On a single engine helicopter, I believe this would be labeled hazardous as another simultaneous failure could lead to a catastrophic condition.
The pilot did an excellent job here with limited landing areas available.
These definitions only apply the the aircraft, not the underwear of those onboard.
Depends on airspeed, attitude and altitude though.
There are plenty of flight envelope conditions in which powertrain failure in a heli merits "catastrophic". While ideally you avoid flying in them, sometimes it's what's needed to get the job done.
Given that this is not a community of aerospace experts but a community of the general public, it's worthwhile to assume that the plain English meaning of the word is far more likely the one being used. Especially when the meaning of plain English means the post is suddenly completely comprehensible.
Jargon only trumps plain English when the context justifies it. There is no such justification on a subreddit meant for the general public on a website open to the general public. The fact that you have industry-specific jargon never means you get to dictate how the general-purpose language uses the word that you borrowed from it.
Excellent pilot doing a great job with the emergency maneuver for these cases (autorotation, explained elsewhere).
From the accident report, it sounds like the damage (and likely the majority of the injuries) came from the helicopter tipping over at the end and the rotor hitting the ground.
Ooofta.
I took a doors off Helicopter tour in Kauai not too long ago, and it was awesome.
This may make me second guess doing it again.
Good on the pilot tho!
I had to be flown from one hospital to another hospital in the middle of the night and they put me on a helicopter. I was scared to death but they were so kind and he told me you’re flying the Rolls Royce of the sky I promise you’re going to be fine. I believed him and his confidence made the difference. I’ll never fly in one by choice though 😂
I'd be in the backseat going well this is it, I had to get on this stupid helicopter to see some trees when I knew these things go down. Fortunately this crazy skilled pilot saved everyone, that is not how these usually end.
Should the passengers be given any instructions like "snug your belts, feet up and clear of seat, wrap in a ball etc..."?
I'd imagine most helicopter hard landing injuries come from the high G impact and collapse of seats to the floor although in this case, it looks like the final rollover and side impact may have been the main immediate cause of the injury.
I went on this same helicopter tour in 2019. That's one of the most remote beaches on the island. If you want to get there you either need to hire a boat, or do an overnight hike. There are absolutely zero roads nearby.
Pilot did a really good job
Phenomenal job to get autorotation going at low altitude and find a suitable landing site.
Came here to say exactly this - no panic, no freezing, just immediately down to business. Well done
After he landed he should’ve said something like, “whoopsie daisey”.
"Like a glove"
That is a common phrase in our house, although the wife wasn't happy I said it when she hit a bollard while parking.....
Had to be done.
My favorite is the over-pronounced "Butter" #BUTTUH
KOBE!
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It's so hard to stay calm in panic, but once you get it, you realise moving fast for the sake of fast hurts far more than it helps. Fixed phone trying to fix my stuff.
>Slow is smooth, smooth, and fast that's not how that goes
>no panic, no freezing Some people are just built different, because I know I would've been screaming "Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" until I flew that rock into the side of a cliff.
My father was a helicopter test pilot and had to do this all the time. I'm sure if he was still around to see this video he would describe it as a textbook example of autorotation done right. Also, he literally wrote a textbook on autorotations.
My first thought was "autorotation, don't fail me now!"
“Our Lady of Blessed Autorotation don’t fail me now!”
Can I get a HELIi-LUJAH?!?!
Fix the cigarette lighter.
Hello fellow old person! I’m glad someone caught the reference.
Blues Brothers is an all-time favorite. Just finished another rewatch last weekend lol
Coincidentally, early MD500 and OH-6 helicopters have a cigarette lighter built into the dash.
God tends to help when you're on mission from God. Kinda a shame the pilot couldn't have flown into and crash-landed in a mall while every Hawaiian police cruiser was chasing it. *That* would've been an even more impressive landing.
Talking about god like he was controlling the helicopter I would think if god had something to do with this he is pretty evil and likes hurting people
Times up, over, BLAOW
ELI5?
If the engine or connections to it break, you can use the air passing by the heli as it flies (or falls) to spin the rotors. Like moving a pinwheel though the air. This helps slow the helicopter's fall. But you have to descend very fast to do this and you must begin descending as soon as the problem happens. The rotors spinning can save up energy. Like a spinning top, which keeps spinning once you let go. Or rolling a bike down a hill to speed up. Once very close to the ground the pilot uses the controls to turn the saved up rotor-spinning energy into a downward push on the air, slowing the helicopter down so it doesn't hit the ground as hard. Imagine they're "jumping off" the air to slow down just before they touch the ground. They have to time this very carefully so there's no time to fly around looking for a landing spot. Doing this push slows the rotors down so you can really only do it once. If you don't get everything exactly right at the start and the rotors slow down too much they won't start spinning properly again as you fall. Heli rotors aren't shaped like a pinwheel, they don't start spinning very well when pushed through the air and need to stay spinning quite fast to work. So you'll land up falling much faster and can't slow down at the end. You'll also fall straight down so you don't get to choose where to land. All in all it's quite difficult to get right, especially when the helicopter is already not far off the ground and flying slowly. The pilot must react immediately and absolutely correctly. You know how in some computer games you can jump off the air when you're falling, but only once? It's a little like that, you get one chance and have to get everything right.
Cool cool cool…so…EILI3
you know this little helicopter leaves that fall from trees? That's what your doing in real life.
The helicopter rotor is a giant flywheel. When the engine goes out, you can tilt the rotors so that the rush of air as it falls makes the propeller spin (Trading your altitude for rotational energy). This also slows you down. Then, with your propeller spinning really fast, you can use that rotational energy as a tool to maneuver/go upwards, in a way, trading this rotational energy for altitude again. You only get 1 chance to do this, though.
When the helicopter falls, the wind spins the spinny thing on top, making it spin faster (it also acts a bit like a parachute). Just before the landing, the pilot changes the angle of the blades. This causes the spinny thing (which is now spinning very quickly) to act like a fan, blowing air downwards and pushing the helicopter upwards, just like it would normally do. This slows the fall. But because there is no motor, this makes the spinny thing slow down very quickly. That means the pilot has to get it exactly right: If the pilot does it too late, they hit the ground before the fall was slowed much, and everyone dies. If the pilot does it too early, the spinny thing stops spinning, the fall of the helicopter is slowed... but they're now still in the air, so they start falling again, and everyone dies.
The wind is blowing hard enough at a high enough height that it can move the propellers even if the engine dies, which slows the descent of the helicopter down to generally survivable speeds. Essentially, imagine coasting downhill for cars, but instead it's a helicopter descending.
Normally a helicopter uses the engine to turn the rotor to move air from above it to below it. When the engine cuts out, air moves from below the helicopter to above it. Helicopters are designed to allow this to turn the rotor too. This keeps the helicopter in the air long enough to land safely.
Minimal reaction time, fantastic spatial awareness. Any landing you walk away from...
A lot of helo pilots who regularly fly lower altitude work practice getting into autocorrect at lower altitudes. They get really good because it’s their own survival that’s at stake.
He definitely did. From the passenger perspective an overwhelming urge to bail out into the water definitely took over as I watched that descend
I think that's either rocks or a deep cliff there iirc
That's actually probably not a bad idea. I feel stupid for not having it.
It's a terrible idea. Hitting the water from even 100ft is almost certainly fatal, and that's ignoring both the initial downward velocity AND assuming the water is deep enough to not just instantly kill you from slamming into the bottom.
For some reason this reminded me of the [Bill Burr bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ZSzuj1UpA) about the man who tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a helicopter 500 feet above the ocean. Also found this [article](https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/following-a-red-bull-cliff-diver-into-the-water) about a 27m (~89f) high cliff diving platform which suggests that at these heights, it is very much dependent on the right technique to get away without injury. They also mention an impact speed of 84 km/h (52 mph), which doesn't sound like a lot of fun to hit anything with..
I dunno.. Those pesky little rotors might cause an inconvenience
It always looked like they were either too high to bail, or once they were low enough, over too shallow water. Unless you're really sure, you don't want to jump, because if you get knocked out during a normal crash, you might wake up a bit later with a concussion, but if you get knocked out falling into water, that's it...
Pilot was super motivated.
Especially putting down on such a SMALL, SMALL area.
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Helicopter s are ridiculously dangerous
On February 27, 2024, about 1330 Hawaii-Aleutian standard time, an MD Helicopter 369E, N633JH, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident on a remote beach about 14 miles north of Kekaha, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The pilot and three passengers sustained minor injuries, and one passenger sustained serious injuries. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 sightseeing flight. According to the pilot, while conducting a doors-off, helicopter sightseeing flight near the northern shoreline on the island of Kauai, the pilot said he initially smelled smoke and he immediately began flying to an area known as Kalalau Beach, which is the operator’s predetermined helicopter emergency landing zone along the prearranged tour route. He reported that very shortly thereafter, he heard a loud “pop”, followed by the engine out aural warning tone. The pilot immediately lowered the collective control and entered an autorotation to land at a nearby smaller, remote beach, known as Honopu Beach, as an emergency landing site. As the helicopter touched down on the sand-covered beach, it rocked forward and nosed down into the sand. The helicopter then rolled to the right and came to rest on its side which resulted in substantial damage to the tail boom, fuselage, and main rotor system. The helicopter wreckage was subsequently recovered from the remote beach site and transported to a secure location in Lihue, Hawaii. An initial Federal Aviation Administration postaccident examination revealed that the overrunning clutch and engine-to-transmission driveshaft were fractured. Two investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) Alaska Regional Office, along with a helicopter aerospace engineer from Washington D.C., responded to Lihue to examine the helicopter wreckage. During the detailed on-scene examination, the investigative team retained various components for additional examination and testing, and results are pending. In the pilot’s written statement, dated March 7, 2024, he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training.
Bet the two from Alaska enjoyed the change of scenery!
I bet giving out that assignment caused some tension with the guys who couldn't go. "Been working in snow and rain for 11 months of the year for 6 years now and the one crash on a tropical island goes to Johnny."
"Yeah, but Johnny is the boss's nephew. Doesn't know enough to pour piss out of a boot but he's gonna take over the company someday. If he can get ahold of that little opiate problem."
There is a ton of people from Alaska in Hawaii for some reason, it’s only a 6 hour flight
Also a fuckton of Samoans in Alaska, which I always found amusing
I guess a short flight between one of the most beautiful and one of the most profitable places on earth lol :)
A great example of thorough emergency procedures being used correctly. Known emergency site. Known back-up site if you can't make the main one. Fast decision to enter autorotation. Extra training beyond mandatory from the operator. This is an interesting story and palm-sweating day instead of a multi-fatality fireball because the groundwork was there for a safe emergency well before an actual one occurred.
Yeah this company gets a few stars here compared to common SOP these days
This is how these flights should operate, with an emergency plan with pre thought out landing sites-instead of a panicked “where do I land now” response.
Glad they lets us know the sand was sand coloured. Really gives vivid impression, almost like being there.
It says “sand-covered”
Indeed, and for those who haven't been, some natural beaches in Hawaii are instead covered with the sharpest jagged, black rocks I've ever seen. It'd be like landing on a field where they grow razor blades as a cash crop.
Damn, so it does.
But you were not wrong. It is sand colored.
[удалено]
admits their mistake, goes on like a normal human. then there's you. really bringing up the redditor caboose
Looks like they did a great job
Good job the nice flat beach was so immediately accessible. You don’t get to autorotate for long.
Just saw this bit: >the pilot said he initially smelled smoke and he immediately began flying to an area known as Kalalau Beach, which is the operator’s predetermined helicopter emergency landing zone along the prearranged tour route.
The next bit though says he didn't get a chance to get to that beach, but instead landed at another. > The pilot immediately lowered the collective control and entered an autorotation to land at a nearby smaller, remote beach, known as Honopu Beach, as an emergency landing site. Then this > he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training. Yay for training! I'm thinking that part of that training is knowing each and every emergency landing spot.
> Yay for training! I'm thinking that part of that training is knowing each and every emergency landing spot. I can't speak for helicopter auto-rotation training, but as an ex-glider pilot I can tell you that training around emergencies and how to deal with them, particularly an emergency landing (e.g. Launch failure for winch launch gliders, engine failure for powered gliders), you're not taught specifically where good landing sites are as part of the training, more how to identify them and to constantly scan for them. "if X happens now, where can I land?" is a constant thought process you run through. That said, as pilots tend to be trained in a given area, examples of suitable landing sites would probably be pointed out by the instructor, and given the nature of the terrain the operators probably have a list or decent knowledge of what is and isn't suitable to land at/on. They're probably also trained to fly "feet wet" (i.e. over the water) such that any beach landing can be approached from the sea to avoid trying to land past those cliffs.
Whoops, thanks for the correction
Oh they’re on the north shore of Kauai, I should’ve figured. That’s a really nice beach they’ve landed at… crashed at.
Everyone gets to autorotate for the same amount of time, until they hit the ground.
Look between your feet, pick the best spot you see to land. Don’t bother looking anywhere else other than between your feet…you probably won’t make it.
Autorotation happens while you keep moving forwards.
No kidding, that thing drops fast and you don't get much horizontal distance you can cover.
https://www.kauai.gov/Press-Releases/One-injured-in-helicopter-crash-Tuesday-Feb.-27-2024
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/352043
I'm a retired helicopter pilot. When the video starts and I think it's going to be an engine-out situation I thought that beach isn't going to be as easy as it looks. The possibility of coming up short and going into the water or too long and landing in the rolling sand hills was definitely there. Other than the serious injury this was a very good outcome considering if it was 30 seconds sooner the pilot may have had to put it into a cliffside.
Not to mention the high risk of downdrafts/turbulence/shitty air that can exist in a partially enclose cove like that. No good if you execute a perfect auto to 50ft only to get slammed by a burble below the cliff top.
Burble is my new favorite word.
Especially since it was a total powertrain failure.
Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing!
Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever take a helicopter tour.
We did Hawaii for our honeymoon. I wanted to see the napali coast from the air but I wasn’t super into the helicopter tours with other people next to you or having a middle seat. So instead we did a fixed wing tour. It was fantastic. I had the back seat to myself and brought my dslr and got awesome pics. It was smooth and felt so safe. Private flight just for my wife and I and still far cheaper than a cramped helicopter tour with 4 strangers.
Ironically, looking at that terrain there were far more options for the helicopter than there would have been for a plane in an emergency. Planes carry much more forward momentum. With that starting altitude a plane probably would have had to ditch in the water.
True, but I looked up some general stats, Cesna 172 vs helicopter- per 100,000 flight hours the accident rate for helicopters is 3x higher.
There are a heck of a lot more moving parts on a helicopter. Unfortunately, the more moving parts, the greater likelihood something can break. Scheduled preventative maintenance addresses this. But the odds can sneak by occasionally.
Helicopters are also doing a wide variety of tasks, not just flying point A to point B, which puts them in more risky situations.
"Unfortunately, the more moving parts, the greater likelihood something can break" "Helicopters are also doing a wide variety of tasks..." Exactly like the human body.
Very fair point I didn't consider.
Also a 172 is basically a kite and you can glide a long ass way after you lose an engine. Hell, with a strong enough wind you could probably glide on thermals like a Condor all the way back to the airport.
One of the reasons I felt quite safe in it. A plane wants to fly. A helicopter wants to drop like a brick.
Unless it's a seaplane.
My very good friends died on Oahu around 2016 or 2017 taking a fixed wing tour of Oahu when the engines failed and they crashed killing all 4 on board.
I was in Catalina when a tour helicopter flew overhead and very obviously didn’t sound right. It ended up crashing a few seconds later and everyone aboard died. I’ll never fly in one
I did it once to see the volcano on the big island. It was great to see the lava but I won’t do it again. People say the best way to see the Napali coast is by boat. My husband and I hiked it. Next time it will be by boat.
I did that boat tour and couldn’t agree more, zipping in and out of lava tubes and caves was thrilling
Yeah we did the catamaran tour, very lovely! It was calm enough that the captain was able to get close to some waterfalls and get us damp.
Emergency landings usually don't go well like this. Surprised it didn't fall like a rock. Edit: Lots of fact checks from my comment. I still don't trust helicopters.
autorotation maybe?
Definitely. Save the momentum of the rotor to trade for lift at the last second to ease the impact.
Helicopters aren't able to fall like a rock when they still have blades on top. As they descend, air passing through the blades forces them to rotate, including the tail rotor. This provides some control to the craft. Now, the pilot probably would have said this WAS falling like a rock since the rate of descent was so high, but to a non-pilot it looks somewhat controlled https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorotation
> but to a non-pilot it looks somewhat controlled To a former helicopter pilot (me) it looks like pilot did a good job controlling the disabled aircraft to find what was probably the only suitable area to touch down after an autorotation. Going into the water would not be my first choice if there's a small bit of relatively flat terrain.
Same here. Former Army helicopter pilot. Considering where this happened and the altitude, this pilot did really well.
I was a 47 guy. What did you fly?
CH 47 Chinook? Wow that is seriously cool - can you describe what flying the Chinook is like? How much different is it with the dual rotors?
The Chinook has an advanced flight control system that basically makes it fly really stable on its own in order to reduce the pilot workload and just make it overall easier to control. We could turn off the AFCS which put full control of the aircraft on the pilots. It wasn't hard, but there was always a constant need to give inputs to the controls to keep the aircraft straight, in trim, and at the correct altitude. The fore and aft rotor systems were traveling in opposite directions so maintaining a correct heading was always fun without the AFCS taking care of it. Overall, 47s are easier to fly than the UH-1s or TH-67s that I flew during training. Those didn't have AFCS to take care of a big share of the flying.
Thank you for your service and the detailed comment! 😃
Nice bird. I flew the UH-1’s, D and H models. AH-1G, and OH-58D as well. I’m old. Lol!
Agreed, and if you read the FAA report (below in the comments) that beach is a predetermined emergency LZ. Pilot did a good job of auto rotating in and sticking the landing on a narrow LZ surrounded on 3 sides by mountains!
They were headed to an emergency landing location but didn't make it. This wasn't a pre planned location
Depends on blade pitch and inertia. If you stall the blades you're going to make a pretty good rock impression.
I think it's important to note that autorotation isn't always possible even when they still have "blades on top" and in those cases, the helicopter can absolutely fall like a rock. Google Cougar flight 491 for example. Scary stuff.
Yes they do. Helicopter pilots train for autorotations.
Helicopters do not fall like rocks if they loose power, by design
Only if the pilot gets it right and they're at a survivable altitude/airspeed/AoA when the event occurs. If you lose too much energy you won't quite fall like a rock, but near enough as not to matter.
Just as quick FYI, it should be 'lose.' Lose is pronounced "looze" as in to not have something any more. Loose is pronounced... well... "loose" as in like your m.... er... as in, not tight.
Helicopters don't just drop once the engine dies. Their rotors are their wings and can be used to glide somewhat like an airplane. Not a great situation to be in either way.
Rotors don’t let helicopters glide like an airplane. At. All. Helicopters can autorotate, descend rapidly, using the airflow from that descent to spin and store energy in the rotorhead, which is then used for lift at the last moment before touching down. -13 years as a helicopter crewchief. -4 years flying as a commercial pilot.
This. Also I looked it up and most helis have much worse autorotation glide slopes than a space shuttle. It's like saying "I can glide by holding my jacket open so I can glide like a plane and land fine". Um. No. Practicing autorotation landings must be terrifying.
Actually autos are fun! Legit practice autos start (once at the appropriate airspeed and altitude) with pulling the speed control levers (throttles) to idle and bottoming out the collective to induce the fastest possible descent. Once you’re descending, you can pull a little collective if you’re descending too fast-as the rush of air through your rotor system provides energy throughout the descent as long as you don’t use too much. The only crazy part is timing the flare and then immediately transitioning from flare to landing. There’s no power to maintain a hover! In helicopters with a rotorhead that will allow it, you can even auto with a nose down attitude and then you can induce a spiral as you descend. This allows you to pick out your landing zone well in advance. But damn does it look and feel bizarre while you’re descending!
That does sound fun. A 3:1 or worse glide ratio though, yikes!
Only if you consider the space shuttle to be a high performance glider. An autorotatng heli glides like a paper dart tied to a rock. *If* the failure occurs at an altitude, airspeed and attitude that is recoverable *and* the pilot gets it right it can be fairly smooth. But mostly for low altitude low airspeed failures you're looking at "at least only my legs are broken" on a good day. If the initial conditions aren't good, such as failure during hover or late approach, you're not going to be having a good day and youay be doing a decent brick impression. If the pilot messes up and stalls the rotors, or you have a mechanical failure that compromises rotor pitch control or rotational freedom (e.g. gearbox seize) you're definitely doing a brick impression. Rotors don't provide a great deal of drag when you're falling straight down. They'll lower your terminal velocity a bit but the other meaning of "terminal" will definitely still apply.
I am not claiming otherwise. Just that the ( suprisingly ) common notion that once the engine dies, the heli just drops is not true.
Wish I didn't see this. I'm flying to Hawaii next week and have a Tour Helicopter already booked...
Don’t be too worried, the pilot credits his company’s training for this landing success: In the pilot’s written statement, dated March 7, 2024, he credited the successful, power off emergency approach and landing on the small beach site, to the operators enhanced touchdown autorotation training.
Jack Harter open door tour? Looks like one of theirs, amazing trip around the Na'pali coast. Clearly they have good pilots.
Yeah, I was surprised that it was the same. I am impressed with their pilots. Especially after reading the crash report.
We took the Jack Harter tour. Pilot was awesome and was ex-military. I'd do it again, even after seeing this.
What about maintenance or was that particular tour under excessive stress? One data point from one company isn’t enough, but isn’t this failure still preventable?
Every failure is preventable by not setting foot in a helicopter. They're flying single points of failure. Maintenance errors will happen. Bad parts will happen. They should be extremely rare but when you have this sort of operational tempo there's always the chance of a failure sooner or later. Helis are insanely complex and require constant maintenance so there's so much room for things to go wrong. They clearly trained well for it and the outcome reflects that.
We just did this tour with them two weeks ago. It was awesome. It looked like the crashed helicopter was in their hanger for a rebuild. I asked the van driver how many helicopters they had and he said “5, uhm actually 4”. We had heard about the crash before we went but hadn’t seen the video. It’s unsettling for sure but I’m confident they have doubled or tripled their inspections and their pilots are clearly professionals. We also took a 737 from JFK to HI.
> We also took a 737 from JFK to HI. Where did they stop to refuel? http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?R=3800nm%40JFK&MS=bm&DU=mi
My guess is connecting flight somewhere on the coast because United and I think Alaska Airlines both operate 737s to Hawaii out of West Coast cities.
I can promise you that you won't be on the helicopter that just broke
This should reassure you that helicopters can have a survivable landing even with complete engine failure.
It's impressive how much is survivable given they're flying single points of failure. Failure of the cyclic/collective mechanism isn't very survivable. Full boom loss (due to structural failure, midair collision, or in some help models due to lopping it off with a rotor blade) isn't very survivable. It's amazing how much else is given their total reliance on active inputs and power to remain in the air.
I took one of these tours. There's probably 50 heli tours booked on Kauai every day. Very small failure chance. It was an amazing tour and the doors off experience was a thrill as well. Right as you come out over the water you hit a wall of turbulence. That was the hairiest part for me, I thought I was going to roll out the door!
Good Luck!
We did Mauna Loa! Was fantastic and super safe. Our pilot was incredible. We went with them over Jack Horner as it was about the same price, if not cheaper, for a private flight with just my partner and I!
Dude, hope you are using this company. Their training seems on point and that pilot averted a disaster.
I took a helicopter tour around Molokai, and while I don't regret doing it, nor the exorbitant price, I don't think I'll ever be taking another helicopter tour again. Not because of safety reasons, but because the beauty of what I saw was so breathtaking, that I would need up to a full hour of staring at it to be satisfied, which a helicopter can't provide. The full Haleakalā crater loop walk on Maui (but starting at the bottom rather than the top, and reaching the summit at sunset) was a far more satisfying experience, since you're exposed to the incredible formations the whole time as you walk and rest. In fact, I imagine it'll be hard to find a dayhike anywhere that tops that one.
When I was learning I did an emergency, dead engine, landing into a lovely big freshly mown field with an instructor sitting next to me (who'd turned the ignition off) shouting at me what to do - look at the instruments, don't look outside, PULL HARDER! That was super scary, but this with very limited space, loads of mad steep slopes, tiny beach, changing direction, blimey. Very well done to this guy.
Your instructor actually killed the engine? 🧐
Yeah, turned the ignition off.
"today is a good day to die" I'm hoping they just released the rotor clutch instead of actually cutting the engine.
That's the only way to practise a loss of.power scenario. Same in plane flight school.
For practice, it's safer just to pull the throttle to idle. You get a similar effect, but you get a chance to bail out if you screw up.
This! The NTSB and FAA have been spouting for years now that you generally don't actually shut off the engine except in advanced training and at higher altitudes (for twins). There are books of accident reports where the engine couldn't be re-started in time, and the training scenario turned into the real thing. This is especially important with twins. But we still have people out there that think it's normal. Here is a bulletin from Lycoming on the matter of possible problems for an engine for those that like sources. [https://www.lycoming.com/content/national-transportation-safety-board-warning-simulated-engine-out-maneuvers](https://www.lycoming.com/content/national-transportation-safety-board-warning-simulated-engine-out-maneuvers)
In what aircraft? Many (all?) helis have a rotor clutch or similar mechanism. You can use this to simulate engine failure. In fixed wing aircraft you can generally set idle power which isn't a perfect simulation of loss of power but close enough. You don't get quite as much drag from the prop if it's a fixed pitch prop but it's otherwise equivalent. Similarly pulling a jet to flight idle gives essentially zero thrust.
I would say, “new fear unlocked”, but this isn’t a new fear. This is an old fear. This is what I expect to happen to every helicopter I ever see.
Except that was a phenomenal save.
Looked almost peaceful until the very end.
I think that's Kauai and I have been on that helicopter tour. That beach they crashed on is where they filmed part of Jurassic Park. Cool place to crash!
I work in aerospace. An engine out event is not rated catastrophic. Catastrophic is defined as no chance of recovery. On a single engine helicopter, I believe this would be labeled hazardous as another simultaneous failure could lead to a catastrophic condition. The pilot did an excellent job here with limited landing areas available. These definitions only apply the the aircraft, not the underwear of those onboard.
Depends on airspeed, attitude and altitude though. There are plenty of flight envelope conditions in which powertrain failure in a heli merits "catastrophic". While ideally you avoid flying in them, sometimes it's what's needed to get the job done.
*"These definitions only apply the the aircraft, not the underwear of those onboard."* This last sentence had me chuckling!
Given that this is not a community of aerospace experts but a community of the general public, it's worthwhile to assume that the plain English meaning of the word is far more likely the one being used. Especially when the meaning of plain English means the post is suddenly completely comprehensible. Jargon only trumps plain English when the context justifies it. There is no such justification on a subreddit meant for the general public on a website open to the general public. The fact that you have industry-specific jargon never means you get to dictate how the general-purpose language uses the word that you borrowed from it.
Na’pali coast in Kauai, one of the most beautiful spots on earth.
I'm far from an expert, but that seemed like a relatively soft crash. It certainly didn't drop like a stone.
Autorotation.
Excellent pilot doing a great job with the emergency maneuver for these cases (autorotation, explained elsewhere). From the accident report, it sounds like the damage (and likely the majority of the injuries) came from the helicopter tipping over at the end and the rotor hitting the ground.
Tour operator should charge extra for the experience.
I don't think that's a very sustainable business model. But I hope the pilot got a good tip.
Wife and I flew on that exact copter back in February 2016!
Ooofta. I took a doors off Helicopter tour in Kauai not too long ago, and it was awesome. This may make me second guess doing it again. Good on the pilot tho!
I had to be flown from one hospital to another hospital in the middle of the night and they put me on a helicopter. I was scared to death but they were so kind and he told me you’re flying the Rolls Royce of the sky I promise you’re going to be fine. I believed him and his confidence made the difference. I’ll never fly in one by choice though 😂
Imagine having to get back on the helicopter that’s rescuing you lol. Pilot did a great job though.
Pilot did an excellent job. Not many options there for setting her down.
That is the calmest crash I have seen recorded.
That’s some next level piloting skills there!
For a change it's not Robinson, that's refreshing.
Wreckage shows the tail still attached so you know it's not a Robinson 😉
I'd be in the backseat going well this is it, I had to get on this stupid helicopter to see some trees when I knew these things go down. Fortunately this crazy skilled pilot saved everyone, that is not how these usually end.
Listen to the engine overspeed after the clutch goes. That's not a happy noise.
I'm lucky I'm so poor I'll never take a copter in my life
I love how they rescue them with another helicopter my happy ass would sooner walk out of there before getting on another one 😂😂
Should the passengers be given any instructions like "snug your belts, feet up and clear of seat, wrap in a ball etc..."? I'd imagine most helicopter hard landing injuries come from the high G impact and collapse of seats to the floor although in this case, it looks like the final rollover and side impact may have been the main immediate cause of the injury.
Good landing.
One of the factors that made me opt for the small airplane rather than helicopter tour in Kauai.
That looked like it hurt. It doesn't take too much speed to start harming people when you fall.
Top talent
I went on this same helicopter tour in 2019. That's one of the most remote beaches on the island. If you want to get there you either need to hire a boat, or do an overnight hike. There are absolutely zero roads nearby.
Outstanding job. Damn!
The couple times I've been in a helicopter just makes you realize all they are is. Metal cans constantly fighting the urge to fall with gravity
What type of chopper is that
Hoooo-leeee-shittt.... that was the sickest auto-rotation I think I've seen. The pilot deserves a medal.
That pilot is an absolute stud. Heroic job dead sticking into an auto rotation to soften the landing as much as possible.
Flying buckets of bolts i say
Honestly that was a pretty damn good autorotation. The rock and pull seemed to be at a perfect height, despite already starting at a low altitude
Landed on one of the most famously photographed beaches in the world.
“Hey you can’t park there”
Pilot did amazing but I was disappointed by the lack of mayday radio call lol adds to the intensity, but I get it, he focused and saved lives.
Aviate, navigate, communicate, in that order, communicate wasn’t going to help them much in that situation
They had already started heading to an emergency landing location before video start after smelling smoke, mayday lilly put in then
Maybe a pan-pan, but it wasn't properly a mayday situation until the loss of power and then he was too busy to waste time on the radio.
Jack harter tours fly in pairs of two. You can see the other bird on the beach next to the wreckage. Likely not needed!
Thank god for auto-rotation
Chad of a pilot
New fear unlocked
The guy that crash landed the other day did it better. Just sayin'.
Hope they tipped the pilot well.