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re: Can someone explain the Kobe helicopter crash to me like I'm 5?
Posted on 1/30/20 at 7:05 pm to kywildcatfanone
Posted on 1/30/20 at 7:05 pm to kywildcatfanone
Was definitely a massive pilot error somewhere in there for sure.
0
Posted on 1/30/20 at 7:36 pm to tatervol
quote:No, it wasn’t. My question is basically why was he flying so low?
Primetime to be fair you asked one of the more moronic questions I’ve seen in my internet history.
I understand he hit a mountain and mountains are not flat, obviously.
My point is the pilot knows there are mountains around, and they’re not exactly Mount Everest. Surely he knows the elevation in the area. Surely he has gauges telling him the elevation he’s at.
He didn’t even hit near the top. He hit low on the mountain.
My question is, how does that happen? Why fly so low? Particularly if you are in thick fog and can’t see where you’re going, then why fly so low?
This post was edited on 1/30/20 at 7:37 pm
Posted on 1/30/20 at 8:08 pm to PrimeTime Money
Every bit of flight data, weather reports, and witness accounts I've seen tells me that helicopter should not have been flying in the first place, at least not until the fog lifted.
Posted on 1/30/20 at 9:18 pm to Sentrius
I just spent about 10 minutes looking at google map of the area. I can’t figure out why they would have left the visible Hwy 101. I was trying to see if it looked like it might have been a short cut to cut through the hills there but it doesn’t look like it would have saved more than a minute, if even that.
Posted on 1/30/20 at 9:36 pm to PrimeTime Money
quote:
No, it wasn’t. My question is basically why was he flying so low?
I understand he hit a mountain and mountains are not flat, obviously.
My point is the pilot knows there are mountains around, and they’re not exactly Mount Everest. Surely he knows the elevation in the area. Surely he has gauges telling him the elevation he’s at.
He didn’t even hit near the top. He hit low on the mountain.
My question is, how does that happen? Why fly so low? Particularly if you are in thick fog and can’t see where you’re going, then why fly so low?
Go watch the 178 seconds to live video that someone posted.
You are completely blind the instant you go into the clouds. You have a very short time to look at very many instruments, which you hadn't planned on using. When you notice your altitude dropping, the typical response to "pull back" just results in your instruments saying you are falling faster, yet your senses say it seems like you are flying level.
And then it's too late.
Posted on 1/30/20 at 9:40 pm to CelticDog
quote:
Maybe the part that spins the big blade on the roof.
The spinny thing?
Posted on 1/30/20 at 10:19 pm to dirtsandwich
I’m genuinely not sure why everyone is being a smartass about the question.
The most likely scenario is that the pilot climbed to get on radar for SoCal, and had some kind of mechanical problem. They fell for over a minute while turning, so he didn’t ‘just fly into the side of a mountain’. They fell out of the sky.
The most likely scenario is that the pilot climbed to get on radar for SoCal, and had some kind of mechanical problem. They fell for over a minute while turning, so he didn’t ‘just fly into the side of a mountain’. They fell out of the sky.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 7:10 am to Dick Leverage
quote:
I just spent about 10 minutes looking at google map of the area. I can’t figure out why they would have left the visible Hwy 101.
From the audio I heard, it sounded like the pilot wanted ATC to be able to follow him, and he was wanting to climb higher so they could.
Now, why he would want that knowing he was ascending into fog/clouds I'm not sure why that was at that moment. Would seem better to stay where you can see generally speaking.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 7:40 am to kywildcatfanone
quote:
Now, why he would want that knowing he was ascending into fog/clouds I'm not sure why that was at that moment. Would seem better to stay where you can see generally speaking.
He was probably already IMC at this point.
The pilot was requesting Flight Following which is a VFR clearance that allows ATC to track you via radar rather than just squawking 1200 (VFR code in US). He probably requested this because he went VFR into IMC and knew he was in trouble. He knew there was terrain in the area but didn't know where he was exactly. The issue with the flight following request is he was too low to be picked up by radar (partially because of the terrain).
That's why he requested a higher altitude, to get ATC to tell him where the hell he was.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 8:04 am to KosmoCramer
quote:
he was in trouble. He knew there was terrain in the area but didn't know where he was exactly. The issue with the flight following request is he was too low to be picked up by radar (partially because of the terrain).
That's why he requested a higher altitude, to get ATC to tell him where the hell he was.
So slow the frick down and hoover till you get your besrings!
That's what's so stupid. It's like Kobe was flying (hint)
Posted on 1/31/20 at 8:29 am to GeeOH
quote:
So slow the frick down and hoover till you get your besrings!
Yeah, this is likely what he should have been doing, but I'm getting he was disoriented and probably had no real idea how fast he was moving and in what direction.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:14 am to GeeOH
quote:
So slow the frick down and hoover till you get your besrings!
That's what's so stupid. It's like Kobe was flying (hint)
How do you "hover" without aerodynamic control of the aircraft and don't know which way is up?
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:15 am to GeeOH
quote:
It's like Kobe was flying (hint)
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:20 am to PrimeTime Money
One of my coworkers is getting his pilot's license now. He said often when you get into fog when flying you get disoriented, and you have to rely on your mechanisms in the cockpit. He said often, those mechanisms are going against your instincts because you are so used to seeing where you are going. You end up lower/higher than you think, then you do what you think is a slight turn but because you can't see it's more drastic than you intended. Your mechanisms are saying you are close to the ground etc., but you don't always believe them because you think they must be incorrect
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:22 am to Xenophon
quote:
some kind of mechanical problem. They fell for over a minute while turning, so he didn’t ‘just fly into the side of a mountain’. They fell out of the sky.
this part seems to have been ignored or missed in tv accounts and internet stories.
But its in the first reports as "the public reporting that the sound from chopper changed".
Either engine or rotor mechanism.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:29 am to CelticDog
quote:
this part seems to have been ignored or missed in tv accounts and internet stories.
I wouldn't say ignored. The investigation has just begun.
NTSB said that everything they were looking for, in terms of parts, they found in the crash.
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:50 am to QJenk
quote:
it possible for a helicopter to go slow? Do they have different gears? I know extremely little about flying so that is a honest question
When you look up the planes stats, it says the top speed is 178 mph. That's wild to be driving full throttle when you can't see shite. That' like taking your Bugatti on a 273 mph test run on a rainy day, you just don't do it. I'm not a pilot, but I'm definitely smart enough to see the negligence, and flying that low at top speed on a foggy day where most helicopters were grounded is just plain ignorance.
This post was edited on 1/31/20 at 10:07 am
Posted on 1/31/20 at 9:57 am to SlickRickerz
quote:
plane
stet
Posted on 1/31/20 at 10:02 am to SlickRickerz
quote:
where most helicopters were grounded
Link?
Posted on 1/31/20 at 10:09 am to LSUintheNW
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