Virginia State Police Helicopter crash

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  • phylodog

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    Has anyone heard anything about what actually caused the helicopter crash? If you listen to media they are claiming it went down as a result of the protests and claim three deaths attributed to the violence. In fact, the helicopter went down 7 miles southwest of Charlottesville so unless someone had a surface to air missile with them I find this absurd. Just wondering what the odds are of getting any shred of truth about what actually happened.
     
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    Leadeye

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    All helicopters have an issue with hover that can result in a loss of altitude, it complicated to describe but when you get in it and feel the altitude slipping you need to move the cyclic quickly some direction to get the rotors out of their own wash and into cleaner air. This can be a problem if you are distracted and at low altitude, there just may not have been time to recover before those guys hit the trees.
     

    bwframe

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    Shortly after the crash the FNC reporter covering the Charlottesville thing made mention that his crew were discussing that this chopper had been hovering in one spot for dangerously long periods of time.
     

    Leadeye

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    NTSB won't say anything at this point in a crash investigation and I'm only speculating here based on my own observations. Mechanical failure could also be a cause but I doubt it. Even the best pilots get distracted and when you are close to the ground flying is very unforgiving.

    The media and especially the governor really should disconnect the crash from this whole sad incident.
     

    BugI02

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    Release from National Transportation Safety Board:
    The purpose of the flight was to provide a continuous video feed of activities on the ground, which was accomplished with multiple helicopters.
    The accident helicopter (N31A), was a Bell 407, manufactured in 2000. It departed Charlottesville airport at 3:54 pm ET and was over the downtown area at 4:04 pm and engaged in mission-related activities there until 4:42, at which time it departed the area to provide support for a motorcade
    carrying Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

    The last observed radar coverage indicates that the accident helicopter was traveling north/northeast at about 30 knots (34 mph) at an altitude of 2,300 feet. The first 911 call reporting the crash was received at 4:44 pm. The crash site is about 7 miles southwest of the Charlottesville airport.
    The helicopter’s vertical flight path was about 45 degrees when it descended into trees. The main wreckage came to rest about 100 yards from where the aft portion of the tail boom became lodged in a tree.
    There was a post-crash fire. The was no distress call from the accident helicopter. The NTSB and the Virginia State Police are interviewing witnesses who reported seeing the helicopter in flight shortly before the crash.
    Investigators are working with local authorities today to recover the helicopter wreckage to a secure location where additional examination and documentation can be conducted.
    The NTSB has been working closely with the Virginia State Police and appreciates it efforts to support the NTSB investigation.
    A preliminary report detailing the facts and circumstances of the crash that have been developed in this early stage of the investigation will be available on the NTSB website within 2-3 weeks.
    The entire investigation is expected to last 12-18 months. All inquiries related to this accident investigation should be directed to NTSB Media Relations.


    This is a single engine helicopter with.a four blade rotor, a jetranger upgrade. It has several single point failure modes (single systems whose failure is catastrophic) tail rotor and its transmission, rotor control head, main engine transmission and engine since it had only one. There is not much detail but the description of final flight path could be telling, in that it was a forty five degree descent. In the event of a power failure but when you retain some or all control the emergency procedure is called autorotation. You basically allow the helicopter to descend steeply, which does work on the rotor and adds momentum to it. That stored momentum can be used with the cyclic control to partially arrest the descent rate and possibly deliver a survivable landing. That may have been what was being attempted.

    Had the rotor head failed the a/c likely would have gone straight in, and a tail rotor/tail rotor trans failure would have caused it to spin in. Both would be distinguishable from a failed autorotation but the report does't really contain any fine grained information about the actual crash site - which is as it should be

    Ironic that MSM wishes to blame the rioters when apparently it was detailed to a McAuliffe motorcade when it crashed
     

    Cameramonkey

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    Its the old excuse "if the riots werent happening, they wouldnt have had to fly, so therefore it is automatically the rioters' faults that the accident happened. No riot, no flight, no crash."

    Kinda like if Sylvain and Biscuits decided to rob me on the street. B&G pulls a gun and demands my wallet. I instead shoot B&G dead, and Sylvain gets charged with his murder since B&G wouldnt be dead if they didnt do the crime. (sorry guys, the only two names on the screen right now LOL)
     

    Denny347

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    Has anyone heard anything about what actually caused the helicopter crash? If you listen to media they are claiming it went down as a result of the protests and claim three deaths attributed to the violence. In fact, the helicopter went down 7 miles southwest of Charlottesville so unless someone had a surface to air missile with them I find this absurd. Just wondering what the odds are of getting any shred of truth about what actually happened.
    Were they called up BECAUSE those idiots were fighting? If yes and that was my family member that died, you bet your ass they bear responsibility. Much like we tell our spouses that if we get killed on duty, check the manpower and sue the City if backup was too far away.
     

    phylodog

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    We can disagree on this one Denny. My understanding the the protest was granted a permit. If our chopper went down during the Indy 500, Expo or Circle City Classic I seriously doubt the media would be blaming those events for any injuries/deaths resulting from the crash. Short of someone involved in the protests physically causing the crash its complete BS.
     

    Denny347

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    We can disagree on this one Denny. My understanding the the protest was granted a permit. If our chopper went down during the Indy 500, Expo or Circle City Classic I seriously doubt the media would be blaming those events for any injuries/deaths resulting from the crash. Short of someone involved in the protests physically causing the crash its complete BS.
    I mean to say that if they were called up only after the riots broke out and only for the rioting, they can shoulder some of the blame. Figuratively, of course, legally there is nothing here. However, short of that...no. On a side note, I no longer follow much news on TV anymore in an effort to maintain my cheery self. There are some "non-mainstream" news outlets I follow and some local feeds through FB. I have found that reducing my exposure has made me a happier person. Time for me to focus on my immediate needs and screw the rest as there is nothing I can do abut it other than increase my blood pressure.
     

    Trigger Time

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    I mean to say that if they were called up only after the riots broke out and only for the rioting, they can shoulder some of the blame. Figuratively, of course, legally there is nothing here. However, short of that...no. On a side note, I no longer follow much news on TV anymore in an effort to maintain my cheery self. There are some "non-mainstream" news outlets I follow and some local feeds through FB. I have found that reducing my exposure has made me a happier person. Time for me to focus on my immediate needs and screw the rest as there is nothing I can do abut it other than increase my blood pressure.

    Yep I've found the same thing. Everyone is like, did you hear about the huge protest and death or looting the other day? I'm like nope, look up and the sky is still blue and I still dont give a **** so all is good in my world and that's all that matters. I don't have the time to worry about idiots
     

    BugI02

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    I mean to say that if they were called up only after the riots broke out and only for the rioting, they can shoulder some of the blame. Figuratively, of course, legally there is nothing here. However, short of that...no. On a side note, I no longer follow much news on TV anymore in an effort to maintain my cheery self. There are some "non-mainstream" news outlets I follow and some local feeds through FB. I have found that reducing my exposure has made me a happier person. Time for me to focus on my immediate needs and screw the rest as there is nothing I can do abut it other than increase my blood pressure.

    Skim the NTSB statement I posted, Denny. The helicopter was in the air to help provide continuous video feed of the 'events'. It was called away to provide security for McAuliffe's motorcade and crashed enroute, so by your logic McAuliife 'shoulder's some of the blame' as it would not have been doing what it was doing when it crashed had McAuliffe not called them up
     

    rob63

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    I mean to say that if they were called up only after the riots broke out and only for the rioting, they can shoulder some of the blame. Figuratively, of course, legally there is nothing here. However, short of that...no. On a side note, I no longer follow much news on TV anymore in an effort to maintain my cheery self. There are some "non-mainstream" news outlets I follow and some local feeds through FB. I have found that reducing my exposure has made me a happier person. Time for me to focus on my immediate needs and screw the rest as there is nothing I can do abut it other than increase my blood pressure.

    Yep I've found the same thing. Everyone is like, did you hear about the huge protest and death or looting the other day? I'm like nope, look up and the sky is still blue and I still dont give a **** so all is good in my world and that's all that matters. I don't have the time to worry about idiots

    This is where I am now at; with a nod to Mark Twain I have realized it is better for my blood pressure and general outlook to be uninformed rather than misinformed. Now I just need to learn to stick to the gun related threads on INGO.
     
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