Nope. Most do, as IFR with a helicopter is difficult. I don't know of many helicopters with even a one-axis autopilot, and an autopilot is something really handy when flying IFR. That said, if you absolutely, positively have to get there---military, SAR, medievac---you will learn to fly on instruments. There are times when you just can't get low and slow enough to see the road. Flying in hilly terrain, in fog, is one of those times. My information is that he was flying SVFR with ATC flight following. Which was great so long as the ceiling cooperated, and the pilot wasn't so low that terrain was masking his position. The ceiling dropped, so did he and his flight following, and, AIUI, the helicopter ended up in a ~4500 FPM descending spiral until ground. My guess is either spatial disorientation in IMC, leading to a graveyard spiral, or he had an engine failure and tried a fast autorotation to ground, despite the weather and rugged terrain, and that his Sikorsky has two engines, and no Mayday call. I'd heavily bet on the first option. NTSB will find out. I also was under the impression they'd already delayed takeoff awhile, and had a deadline approaching, a tip-off for one of the kid's games, something like that. 'Get-there-itis' has also killed plenty of pilots. That might induce a pilot to push a marginal decision to fly.
Spent a sleepless night in China shocked at how quickly everything can change. I can’t imagine not being able to see an older Mamba analyze the sh*t out of basketball players on TV. I can’t imagine Kobe of all people not be able to finish the new projects he had in the works—out of all the retired greats it seemed like he had the most ambitions for his post-playing career. And I can’t imagine not being able to see Gianna dominate women’s hoops for the next two decades. She was the future of the game and a legend in the making. I need a coffee. Maybe something stronger. Love you guys. Stay safe out there, wherever you may be.
There is a buttload of jargon and acronyms in aviation---try reading a weather report sometime! Usually they save time, but they can get in the way of fostering communication. I'm not a pilot, but I can speak their language, and I'll be happy to translate what I can.
The way you describe it flying a helicopter in fog is just a crash waiting to happen. They sound very unsafe.
Sorry for the excessive acronyms, but this is my wheelhouse. I hear ya, just saying. I can tell you with a fairly high degree of certainty this will be pilot error.
this got me. Sitting at home with his family, holding his daughter, watching his favorite team win the super bowl when he could easily of been in attendance. Inspired as a player and then as a father.
People have to remember that la has cold front winds this time of year. This is January. Helicopters are not toys. Rip
It’s nice to see someone else that speaks the language. The only thing I’d add to your summary, and something that can be a huge problem for obvious reasons, but they eventually got too low for radio coverage. ATC attempted to reach them several times in the final moments. It also sounds like they were going very fast. Perhaps an attempt escape to VFR conditions or get-there-itis, like you said. Either way, not wise whenever you’re so low and close to terrain.
Flying in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) is perfectly safe, fixed-wing or helicopter. Provided the aircraft is equipped with working instruments and the pilot is experienced in instrument-flight operations. If either one of those isn't true it can get very deadly, very quickly. Basically, your ass in the seat can't tell which way the plane is really going unless your eyes are helping or you're staring at a machine that's telling you where you're going. In fact, if it's a fight between the machine and your eyes? Trust the machine. As you might believe, that's really hard to do. Instrument pilots are trained to deal with things like vertigo and optical illusions, ignore them (even if they're vomiting from them), and KEEP FLYING THE AIRPLANE. Listen to your ass instead, and you can feel like you're sitting in a pilot's chair straight and level, but instead be in a tightening, accelerating spiral to the ground. Lots of dead pilots have.
Thanks. Will straight line VHF A/c radios be blocked by terrain? I genuinely don't know. No shortage of rugged terrain around LA, that's for sure.
So basically..to fly this helicopter under these conditions the pilot had to have completed special training done by like army and medic pilots. Any other normal pilot would have crashed.
Spent the day in shock. Didn't know a celebrity death could affect me this much. Such a tragic death. =( #ripmamba and all the other 8 passengers
Last thing before I bail for the night, there is a culture among pilots to appear to non-aviation types to be curt or even heartless when discussing an aviation mishap. It's nothing personal in comments that I make, or to pick on him, what @baller4life315 says. It's just how we're taught when learning to fly. Pick apart everything, and do it perfectly next time. Aviation is an endeavor that can absolutely, utterly punish the smallest error in judgment. 'There's no place to pull over up there if something goes wrong.' It's why pilots who've been doing it awhile follow the checklist, have a plan, fly to the plan, and try to work out contingencies in advance. And flying a VFR aircraft in typically garbage SoCal winter fog, despite not being current on IFR skills, is one of those common mistakes we see over and over, that's killed so many people, that we might sound harsh in talking about the pilot that committed them.
I am not a helicopter pilot. I don't have an IFR rating (I ran out of money.) That said, whoever was flying that aircraft needed to have at least rudimentary instruments skills if there was the chance they could accidentally end up in instrument conditions. Or you don't fly.
yea no way this is true. We have already been flooded with a myriad of fake news. Even so this is the most far fetched yet.
