Fire fighting crash

[steelsporran]

Thankfully the pilot has walked away from it.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-expr ... ls-of-fire

[chopper_nut]

Bit unfortunate. I doubt a gust of wind did that to a 500 considering he didn't even have any weight on the hook. It would have to be about a 50kt gust to turn it like that. I'm thinking t/r failure. Of course not enough information to make an informed decision yet.

[Ian Warren]

YIP .. our famous North West's , I saw the smoke from the yesterdays Rolleston fire, ... and this - thinking about something has to go wrong in the extremes and it is always the way.

[chopper_nut]

Yeh gets up a fair clip down the Wairau valley. Some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced up there.

[Ian Warren]

Yeh gets up a fair clip down the Wairau valley. Some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced up there.

It is amazing just simply how the smoke flows .. then you have "Some of the worst turbulence" , in a way you battle both weather and fire.

[steelsporran]

Yeh gets up a fair clip down the Wairau valley. Some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced up there.

Gusting 55-60kts right now

[dbcunnz]

Bit unfortunate. I doubt a gust of wind did that to a 500 considering he didn't even have any weight on the hook. It would have to be about a 50kt gust to turn it like that. I'm thinking t/r failure. Of course not enough information to make an informed decision yet.

My weather station at Springlands approx 11Km from the crash site registered wind gust between 44 and 48km/h around the time of the crash.

[chopper_nut]

That's only 25kts. Hardly enough to cause LTE unless you're doing something wrong. 50kts however, you want to be pretty careful there. I haven't done fires yet but with what I know about the 500, I wouldn't be trying to pick up a load with a crosswind like that. In fact I wouldn't be doing anything other than actually flying to the fire.

[dbcunnz]

This is from a weather station in Renwick
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-we ... IMARLBOR10

Time Gust
11:05 AM 29.1 kph
11:10 AM 40.5 kph
11:15 AM 40.5 kph
11:19 AM 40.5 kph
11:25 AM 42.2 kph
11:30 AM 42.2 kph
11:34 AM 42.2 kph
11:39 AM 42.2 kph
11:44 AM 42.2 kph
11:50 AM 38.3 kph
11:54 AM 38.3 kph
12:00 PM 33 kp

[Ian Warren]

Very interesting point since you fly on and off a small pad from a fishing boat in the 500, really gives some direction in the possibles that may have caused the crash ... I was riding my CB900 packed to the max and through that area on a dry road the bike was picked up and shunted least 2/3 meters ... I was doing maybe 140km making me an extra little lite ..... but shows the strength and quick whip thru this region.