Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

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Bede
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Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

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J31
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

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cncpc
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by cncpc »

I did hear a bit on this last night from a good source.

Six people in a Long Ranger. Confined space vertical takeoff. On clearing canopy, wind change that put the wind on the tail. LTE and into the trees.

Apparently not a commercial operator. I'm surprised Canfor would put their contractors into a private helicopter.
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cncpc
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by cncpc »

The helicopter was commercially registered, but the owner name does not show on TC list of approved organizations.
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by North Shore »

cncpc wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 8:39 pm I did hear a bit on this last night from a good source.

Six people in a Long Ranger. Confined space vertical takeoff. On clearing canopy, wind change that put the wind on the tail. LTE and into the trees.

Apparently not a commercial operator. I'm surprised Canfor would put their contractors into a private helicopter.
LTE? Whazzat, for us non-rotorheads, please?
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Squaretail
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by Squaretail »

Lost Torque Event?

Not rotorhead, just guessing.
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by karmutzen »

LTE - loss of tailrotor effect. Lots of argument among pilots on what this means and what to do. Let it yaw into wind and drive it forward - if you can. Most experienced Canadian pilots (this one would be considered experienced) can feel the nibble of onset and reflexively adapt.
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goldeneagle
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by goldeneagle »

cncpc wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 8:39 pm I'm surprised Canfor would put their contractors into a private helicopter.
I read somewhere it was the contractor that owned the helicopter.
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cncpc
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by cncpc »

goldeneagle wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2023 6:17 pm
cncpc wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2023 8:39 pm I'm surprised Canfor would put their contractors into a private helicopter.
I read somewhere it was the contractor that owned the helicopter.
Yeah, I got that sense as well. The helicopter is registered to a company in the pilot's name. But, I think that one of the deceased was a contractor for Canfor. I also got the impression that there is some kind of soil remediation environmental company in the mix and the five others may have worked within that company.

But, I think Canfor was footing the bill.

Anyways, not the issue. Odds are it will come out as an LTE event.
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CpnCrunch
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by CpnCrunch »

So what's the deal with LTE? Is it an actual thing that can cause an accident, or just a failure to apply full pedal input until the aircraft is facing into wind again?
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by karmutzen »

CpnCrunch wrote: Sun Oct 22, 2023 9:07 am So what's the deal with LTE? Is it an actual thing that can cause an accident, or just a failure to apply full pedal input until the aircraft is facing into wind again?
Yeah, kind of a failure of the pilot to anticipate it and then not react positively. In media you will often see "LTE caused the accident", much the same as "weather caused the accident".

On a rainy day with a comfortable couch you can read this:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598- ... 20to%20LTE.
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by daedalusx »

Bell 206L ?

LTE. Cased closed.
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J31
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by J31 »

A video example of loss of tail rotor effectiveness (LTE), sadly also fatal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wILGTInYE0U
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cncpc
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by cncpc »

I read the comments in the YouTube video. Some sharp eyes have identified a tail rotor strike into the tree at 0:36. That's certainly in the mix for the causal chain.

I did most of my helicopter training in a Hughes 300 down at Carlsbad airport by Oceanside. Never a word about LTE at all.
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by B206Fan »

I read the comments in the YouTube video. Some sharp eyes have identified a tail rotor strike into the tree at 0:36.
Have you got a link?
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cncpc
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Re: Fatal helicopter crash Prince George

Post by cncpc »

It is the same link as J31 has posted above.
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