The initial reports from the NTSB have come out. The word is there was an engine failure very shortly after take-off. There was also only one window in the trees that even might have been big enough to get the helicopter through. Once the helicopter had gotten through that window, there would have been enough open space for them to make it down the hill on one engine. Had the pilot not been able to find a window, it would have been a completely unsurvivable crash. But there was a window and Roark found it, eventhough it only might have been big enough. Roark still managed to find the window. It was a difference of 18 inches.
18 inches.
Look at your computer monitor. Odds are good that it is 18 inches or more. So, the maximum amount of space he had to judge was your computer monitor. While flying a helicopter 59 feet long, over 12,000 pounds, with rotors 62 feet in diameter. Oh, and just for shits and grins, trying to recover from an engine loss, too.
And while I realize this is old news and not water cooler conversation any longer, should you hear any armchair quarterbacking, here's what else you tell them: he couldn't just put it back down. After every takeoff, there is a point of no return (it's not called that; it's called some acronym that sounds all aviation-y but for us, it's the point of no return.) This is where, regardless of what is going on, the pilots, helicopter and any crew or cargo will be safer trying to move forward and find a safe place to land than to put it back down again. It comes very quickly after takeoff, almost immediately. And Roark's engine failed just moments after that point of no return. (So, yeah, boo on you and fuck you, neighbor!)
Roark didn't fuck up. We all knew it, as much as we could know it. And it's nice to have it confirmed. Removes any last bit of doubt or wondering. It also helps alleviate any concern that he might be made into a scapegoat. After all, he can't dispute anything that is said about him. I would like to think I would be this open about it if he had fucked up. That I would be willing to tell the truth and shame the devil (as the saying goes.) I'm just as glad I don't have to know that for certain. Because he didn't fuck up. He stayed tight right up until the end.
Well done, my friend. You weren't a proud man. I hope you're proud of this.
Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you a little more closure.
6 comments:
I'm glad the facts are in and they confirm what you already knew. I did not know that point of no return thing about helicopters. While I already admire rescue and fire flying, I'll be looking at it even more admirably now. For all the reasons.
It's so easy for people to talk trash like that until they're put in that situation. And I guarantee you that most people wouldn't have been able to handle it.
I'm glad the report confirmed what we all believed.
Thinking of you.
I'm glad for you, and I've also learned quite a bit from these posts.
I know that report must fill you and yours with so much relief. It's always better to know than to "think."
(((hug)))
I'm glad the report confirmed what you already knew. And for what it's worth, I hope things go well for you as you move through this process as I imagine it's been very draining.
My admiration for helicopter pilots, which was already quite high, has just been ratcheted up a knotch.
Hugs to you, BP.
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