Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#21 Post by FD2 » Tue Sep 29, 2020 10:43 pm

Even well trained ground crew can get into difficulties sometimes. Amazingly the man survived with cuts and bruises.


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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#22 Post by ian16th » Wed Sep 30, 2020 8:57 am

........and we were worried about FOD from cap badges, as our beret's were sucked into the engine!

Not wearing beret's on the line became SOP with jet engines in the 50's.

I think the lowest intakes that I worked on were Meteors and Vampire/Venom's. But none of those had much suck.

The biggest hazard was a wet start from a Vampire/Venom. We had an asbestos blanket that protected the tail boom.
The problem was burnt off hair from ones legs, when in KD.
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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#23 Post by FD2 » Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:28 am

Saves on the bill for waxing Ian!

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#24 Post by ian16th » Wed Sep 30, 2020 10:31 am

FD2 wrote:
Wed Sep 30, 2020 9:28 am
Saves on the bill for waxing Ian!
It was part of ones rites of passage!

Any newby was put 'on the blanket', and very quickly learnt to check wind direction and pull the blanket off from the appropriate side.
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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#25 Post by Pontius Navigator » Thu Oct 01, 2020 7:57 am

The incident I thought of might have been after shut down so not at full speed, I do know.

There was a fatal at Kinloss on Nimrod with an engineer sucked in during ground runs without engine guards.

I remember, probably as a CCF cadet, a fellow cadet went and kissed the prop after a successful trip. A lecture on mag switches followed, a lesson I still remember from over 60 years ago.

Ian mentioned no berets, well I always wore my forage cap around the Vulcan. We were not issued hard hats, a bone dome was too cumbersome, and there were many sharp bits at head height. The lower aerial under the bomb summer's blister was one, fine post flight but head height when refuelled. Sliding round the bomb bay was the worst as you entered at a forward hatch and had to negotiate the various bomb racks.

For the Nimrod I think the plumbers removed the pins and only the nukes required us to got into the bomb bay.

Just remembered, slight variation, on the Varsity we used a crawler like getting under cars. One day the bomb aimer got hold of a 25lb er, it came off in his hands which were above his head, remember he is lying flat. He hung on as there was no safe height for dropping the 25lb bomb.

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#26 Post by Boac » Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:23 pm

"I always wore my forage cap around the Vulcan" - any hat, Courts Martial offence on a fighter squadron. I watched one idiot officer on a line somewhere in a strong wing lose his SD hat which bowled merrily along the line and into a running engine.

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#27 Post by Pontius Navigator » Thu Oct 01, 2020 5:47 pm

Sorry, massive thread drift

BOAC, there is a famous picture of a Vulcan crew running to their aircraft for a scramble, they are all wearing SD Hats. In 1965 we used to carry a diversion bag. It was folding suit carrier and we all our blues inn hangers and folded them into the bag, one bag for all 5.

Prior to that, in training, we would pull our flying suit over our uniform removing only our jackets. In landing away flying suits were removed before deplaning.

There was one story of a Meteor ditching, the pilot jumped into to sea, inflated his dinghy and shouted to the nav to hurry up before it sank and took him down. Instead he got on the wing, inflated his dinghy, boarded it, and pushed off into the water. He didn't want to get No 1 trousers wet.

Different times and there was practically no knowledge exchange between Commands. In 1976 I persuaded my Nimrod crew to try some fighter affiliation. It had never occurred to them that they nightcap meet a hostile fighter.

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#28 Post by FD2 » Wed Oct 28, 2020 4:42 am

Common sense prevails over waving woman case.

Charges against a West Coast tourism operator have been dismissed after a judge found the company could not be held liable for a tourist’s finger being partially amputated by a helicopter’s rotor blades.

“The unexplained aberrant behaviour of a passenger who must have been aware of the rotor blades directly above the cabin, raising her hand above her head to wave to other tourists, is something the pilot had no control over.”

Judge Saunders said he found it “highly questionable” whether the visuals were deleted with the intent of obstructing the investigation into the incident. He said in the absence of proof that the images were deleted in an attempt to destroy evidence, the matter could be dealt with by imposition of “a modest fine” or a conviction and discharge.


Absence of proof? Fine them anyway? :-q

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/ ... pter-rotor

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#29 Post by FD2 » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:49 am

Where the money goes:

From today's 'Press': https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/better ... ses-finger

CAA spends over $94,000 prosecuting tourism operators after tourist loses finger

Mariné Lourens11:00, Nov 13 2020


More than $94,000 and two-and-a-half years were spent trying to prosecute two West Coast tourism operators after a woman lost a finger – before the charges were dismissed.

The tourist lost a finger when she “inexplicably” put her hand close to the moving blades of a helicopter during a sightseeing trip to Fox Glacier on March 24, 2017.

The glacier trip was done by Mountain Helicopters Fox Glacier, which contracted Alpine Guides Fox Glacier to guide the tourists, give them a safety briefing beforehand, and ensure they boarded the helicopter safely.

One of the tourists raised her right hand above her head to wave to other passengers as she got back into the helicopter waiting on the glacier. Her hand was struck by the rotor blade, which partially amputated her middle finger and crushed her other fingers.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) charged both companies with exposing an individual to risk of harm, and charged Alpine Guides Fox Glacier with failing to preserve the site of an incident.

The companies applied to the CAA earlier this year to have the matter dealt with through an enforceable undertaking – an alternative to prosecution. It would have involved a voluntary but legally binding agreement between the CAA and the companies, outlining what actions they would take following an alleged breach. The CAA declined the application and opted to continue its prosecution.

CAA lawyer Stephanie Bishop told the Christchurch District Court in September that although the victim was injured through her own actions, the operators were not absolved from all blame.

Bishop said putting a hand close to a helicopter’s moving rotor blades “would seem contrary to common sense”, but the tourism operators still had a responsibility to ensure “humans don’t do stupid things”.
The West Coast is a tourist's paradise with breathtaking scenery, coastal drives and glaciers that have lured large crowds of tourists over the years. (Video first published in May 2020)

She said the tourist did not speak English so did not fully understand the safety briefing she was given. Even if she had fully understood, she was not adequately informed of the risks of approaching a helicopter with moving rotor blades and that she had to keep her limbs close to her body, Bishop said.

In October, Judge David Saunders granted the companies’ application to dismiss the charge of exposing an individual to risk of harm.

The judge said he found it difficult to see why both companies should be tainted by the prospect of a conviction. There was no suggestion they were “rogue operators”.

“The unexplained aberrant behaviour of a passenger who must have been aware of the rotor blades directly above the cabin, raising her hand above her head to wave to other tourists, is something the pilot had no control over.”

The judge did not dismiss the second charge against Alpine Guides Fox Glacier, but said the matter could be dealt with by “a modest fine” or a conviction and discharge.

The CAA spent $94,648 on legal fees between March 2018 and October 12 this year.

A request by Stuff for the CAA’s reasons for forging ahead with the prosecution was refused, with the authority citing legal professional privilege.

A spokeswoman said the reasons for withholding the information outweighed the public interest in the matter.


I seem to be missing something here. It's still the operators' responsibility to ensure that "humans don't do stupid things" - 'legal professional privilege' reasons my backside! Ms Bishop should go far - the farther the better. I'm sure she could find more gainful employment elsewhere for her undoubted talents and insight.

'Failing to preserve the site of an incident' - presumably the helicopter still had its rotor blades and cabin plus doors - which would appear to be the site of the accident, or am I being a bit slow here?! $94k? - a drop in the ocean mate and well worth every cent.

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#30 Post by Woody » Thu Aug 12, 2021 9:36 am

I’ve heard of remote operations, but this is extreme, not great for survivors :-o

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58182420
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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#31 Post by FD2 » Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:59 am

Wow - that is pretty remote, but I think there's a lot of oil exploration activity on the peninsula. Tourist Viktor Stvolkin must be a very heavy sleeper - I'm surprised nobody gave him a wake up slap when the ditching was announced! There are lots of bears - maybe not as friendly as this chap further east. I'm not sure how the boat is propelled but it's a nice picture.


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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#32 Post by FD2 » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:10 am

Mi-8 is a very successful Russian machine dating from 1961 onwards. It's used in over 50 countries:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mil_Mi-8

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Re: Tourist's finger partially amputated by helicopter rotor

#33 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:54 am

FD2 wrote:
Thu Aug 12, 2021 10:59 am
There are lots of bears - maybe not as friendly as this chap further east. I'm not sure how the boat is propelled but it's a nice picture.
Archie and Veronika. She is obviously a comic fan and Archie looks like an amiable creature, but I trust that marriage is not considered bearable in this ursine case! :)

Archieand Veronica.JPG
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