Rotocrash falls out the sky again

[bay_slayer]

Originally Posted by longsidelandry

Ouch, that sucks. Who do you fly?

We normally fly Air log in Galliano....but just found out tomorrow we will be riding in a crew boat out of Fourchon

[Ray]

We have some nice 10 ft. rolling swells out here right now.

[bay_slayer]

Good...........I'll sleep like a baby on the crew boat

[Red Devil]

Originally Posted by Ray

We have some nice 10 ft. rolling swells out here right now.

Guess I won't be flying tomorrow then. New rule that was implemented some time back.

[Ray]

We are in 4000 ft. of water. The swells tend to be a little bigger out here than in shallower water. How deep are you?

[Red Devil]

Originally Posted by Ray

We are in 4000 ft. of water. The swells tend to be a little bigger out here than in shallower water. How deep are you?

280 ft. But the new rule implemented states that if the seas are over 10ft we cannot fly.

[Ray]

I worked in 300 ft. before coming out here. Swells can get pretty big in 300 ft. too.

[CatDaddy]

Thats the bird that flies the 539/540 loop? Not the same pilot that used to fly the B-Model that stayed out there.. I cant remember his name but he was a master instructer..

[LSUh20fowler]

I'm contracted to Apache, which was a big part of Rotocrafts business. We flew out of Creole. Last year, a list of complaints was made and brought to Rotocrafts attention. These problems were not fixed so we switched to PHI in Cameron. Thank God I don't have to fly anymore. Don't have to leave land to go to work now. Glad no one was killed.

[shaggy dog]

I know a guy who flew Rotocraft out of Patterson working for Apache. He said before take off one morning they were working on the helicopter,and the mechanic was beating on the tail rotor with a shovel. He said that was when he decided to find a job inland and came to work with me.

[Red Devil]

Originally Posted by shaggy dog

I know a guy who flew Rotocraft out of Patterson working for Apache. He said before take off one morning they were working on the helicopter,and the mechanic was beating on the tail rotor with a shovel. He said that was when he decided to find a job inland and came to work with me.

I worked in aviation as a stryctural and hydraulics mechanic and I can tell you no aircraft mechanic is going to beat on an aircraft with a shovel, especially a tail rotor. Sorry man.

[Ray]

Thin skin on a helicopter. Won't be hard to see where the beating happened.

[CatDaddy]

I held the main rotor blade up with a broom once while trying to start up in high winds.. lol

[Ray]

Originally Posted by CatDaddy

I held the main rotor blade up with a broom once while trying to start up in high winds.. lol

Done that a few times myself on a 206L model. After the first 2 or 3 rounds, it will stay up on it's own and not hit the tail. But I don't see that anymore. They either manually turn the helicopter around, or don't start up.

[Red Devil]

Had our meeting this morning with seven RLC big wigs. The accident was not a component failure, but human error. They are investigating the maint log and narrowed it down to a couple of mechanics who worked in that area. Some sort of air line for the fuel system came disconnected.

[Ray]

RD, seas are 6 to 8, have a good trip out... LOL

[Red Devil]

We got out about an hour ago.

[Ray]

I seen they laid down a little when I did the poopy patrol this morning.

[Finfeatherfur]

[quote=longsidelandry;71899]That REALLY sucks!!! You don't work with somebody that has a contract with one of the companies?[

As a consultant, we fly with whoever the operator has contracted with for transportation. I have been on PHI, Air Log, Evergreen, ERA, RotoCraft, and Texas Heli. I can tel you any of them are subject to incidents and it is just a fact, if it is something mechanical and humans work on it, things happen.

As a former medic with 13 years of working in La., I have seen my share. Lost several friends over the years, AirMed 1 crash on I-49, AirMed 3 midair crash - Houma airport, Unocal crash GOM - they all claimed lives of good people just trying to make a living. I say a little prayer, hug my wife and kids a little tighter, and put my life in the hands of the professionals that are doing an overall good job of keeping us safe in the GOM.

And just FYI, Air Med is no longer operated by PHI. Metro Aviation now has the contract w/ Acadian Ambulance, and they also have a new EC-135 bird out of Lafayette which is really nice, just hope I am on the working end of it and not the patient end when I fly in it!

[Ray]

When I worked out of Cameron, I flew every day, sometime more than twice a day or more.
Now, I fly out once and fly back in 14 days later. Much more better.