OfftheRails
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Apache collides with power lines on training flight
- Thread starter OfftheRails
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ouch...
Looks like they tore off the left main landing gear.
that blows dude, but to be honest, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Believe it or not wires are the #1 cause of Helicopter related accidents both in Theater and at home.
I bet you I can tell you exactly what happened:
they were doing some NOE or Contour level terrain flight, like the commentator said, and they dropped down to about 20t. off the ground and were flying pretty fast the visibility wasn't that great under FLIR or what ever Night Vision system you guys use, and they hit a set of wires they didn't see...clearly enough, even though something like seems impossible to miss, I have been upclose and personal with those wires at night and they blend in pretty well.
There was a similar accident in Monoroeville AL when I was at flight school. A bunch of dutchmen were flying their apaches down a river and the lead aircraft hit a ferry cable, which killed the frontseater. fortunately the student was able to land the aircraft, as it is standard operating procedure no matter what happens: when ever you hit something or something hits you, you land the aircraft to assess the damage and make sure it doesn't ground the aircraft.
Good to see they were okay and the Wire Strike Protection System (WSPS aka Wisspiss) worked as advertised, im actually impressed to see that even though it was a very beefy cable, it still worked lol...
Looks like they tore off the left main landing gear.
that blows dude, but to be honest, this is not an uncommon occurrence. Believe it or not wires are the #1 cause of Helicopter related accidents both in Theater and at home.
I bet you I can tell you exactly what happened:
they were doing some NOE or Contour level terrain flight, like the commentator said, and they dropped down to about 20t. off the ground and were flying pretty fast the visibility wasn't that great under FLIR or what ever Night Vision system you guys use, and they hit a set of wires they didn't see...clearly enough, even though something like seems impossible to miss, I have been upclose and personal with those wires at night and they blend in pretty well.
There was a similar accident in Monoroeville AL when I was at flight school. A bunch of dutchmen were flying their apaches down a river and the lead aircraft hit a ferry cable, which killed the frontseater. fortunately the student was able to land the aircraft, as it is standard operating procedure no matter what happens: when ever you hit something or something hits you, you land the aircraft to assess the damage and make sure it doesn't ground the aircraft.
Good to see they were okay and the Wire Strike Protection System (WSPS aka Wisspiss) worked as advertised, im actually impressed to see that even though it was a very beefy cable, it still worked lol...
ErikStenger
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hydrohybrid
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aircraft and power lines
When i was a kid there was a guy who used to fly his single engine prop plane and land it in a grassy field area to visit his friend.
The last time he did it he was taking off and either misjudged or didn't get enough lift but caught power lines with his landing gear and it flipped the plane straight into a nose dive where the plane crashed nose first into the ground and exploded or caught fire.
The pilot was trapped and did not survive.
just wanted to add this as I have seen what power lines can do to aircraft.
When i was a kid there was a guy who used to fly his single engine prop plane and land it in a grassy field area to visit his friend.
The last time he did it he was taking off and either misjudged or didn't get enough lift but caught power lines with his landing gear and it flipped the plane straight into a nose dive where the plane crashed nose first into the ground and exploded or caught fire.
The pilot was trapped and did not survive.
just wanted to add this as I have seen what power lines can do to aircraft.