[Vhfcn-l] Helicopter crash on 26 Jan in California

[Donald Jackson]

I remember that crash, I was living in Amarillo at the time.  The pilot and his wife had attended a grandson's football game in Guymon, Ok. and were flying home. 
With a magnesium fire in the helicopter in Ca. it will be hard to determine the cause.  That stuff burns hot and bright.We used magnesium flares a lot during the Tet offensive.

-----Original Message-----
From: Darrell Elmore <moeelmore at aol.com>
To: tiger129ts <tiger129ts at aol.com>; vhfcn-l <vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org>
Sent: Mon, Jan 27, 2020 9:21 am
Subject: Re: [Vhfcn-l] Helicopter crash on 26 Jan in California


The last SAR I participated with the NM CAP involved a search for a missing helicopter in North Texas, up in the Panhandle around Dalhart. We did not  find it and had to eventually call the search off due to bad weather.  
A week or so later they found the wreckage. They had been scud running and took  out a rural electric power pole and rolled up into  a mess next to an oil rig. Apparently there had been no fire. According to the report the  wreckage looked like a normal pile of trash laying next to the facility. 
The line did not go down, the impact just took out a piece in the middle of the pole,  so no one lost power and there was very little traffic on the road to note the damaged pole.
 It was just by chance that a company official had to make a visit and saw the debris. I doubt we would have ever spotted it from the air.
Moe


-----Original Message-----
From: Donald Jackson via Vhfcn-l <vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org>
To: MoeElmore <MoeElmore at aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 27, 2020 6:12 am
Subject: Re: [Vhfcn-l] Helicopter crash on 26 Jan in California

I suspect that the pilot was scud running in an attempt to get Mr. Bryant where he wanted to go and when he wanted to be there.  Most non-aviation types do not understand how dangerous that is.


-----Original Message-----
From: James Evans via Vhfcn-l <vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org>
To: Donald Jackson <Tiger129ts at aol.com>
Sent: Mon, Jan 27, 2020 6:03 am
Subject: [Vhfcn-l] Helicopter crash on 26 Jan in California


You have all probably heard about the helicopter crash in California on 26 Jan that killed Kobe Bryant.  Once I saw some video from the news which showed the top of the mountain covered with fog, I wonder whether the pilot of the helicopter was IFR qualified.  Over the past 60 years, I can recall hearing about several aircraft crashes that were due to the pilot flying into IFR conditions but not having an IFR rating or in the case of the airplane crash which killed Audie Murphy the pilot apparently dialed in the wrong radio frequency for the airfield he was intending to go to.  A missed approach from the wrong location put them into a mountain side.
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