Robinson Down Off Miami Beach

[PHXPhlyer]

Three people injured after helicopter crashes in ocean near Miami Beach coast
A video released by police showed the aircraft, a Robinson R44 helicopter, dive into the water dangerously close to the packed beach.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/th ... -rcna16967


Three people were injured when a helicopter crashed into the Atlantic ocean off a Miami Beach coast, the fire department said.

The crash occurred around 1:10 p.m., Miami Beach Police said in a tweet. A video released by police showed the aircraft, a Robinson R44 helicopter, dive into the water dangerously close to the packed beach.

There were three people on the helicopter according to the Miami Beach Fire Department. The pilot is said to be in stable condition and is "doing OK," a spokesperson told NBC News.

The two passengers were in the backseat and have broken backs, according to the spokesperson. All three were taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The fire department spokesperson said the people in the water at the time of the crash were not injured. The spokesperson said if the crash happened 50 yards closer to land "we would have had a mass casualty event on our hands."

Parts of the beach area were closed. Several agencies were at the scene including the Federal Aviation Administration. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

"The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide additional updates," the FAA said in a statement.

PP

[TheGreenGoblin]

Very difficult to determine anything from that video of approach save to say it was fast, and it was over water with the potential for clear water altitude misjudgment syndrome (CWAMS). Ok, I just made that acronym up.

Look at all of us heavies in the liddle helicopter folks on the beach, oops, too low, overpull, see, wham....???

[Ex-Ascot]

Oh, OK so it wasn't an engine failure? No expert but it didn't look like an autorotation.

[Pinky the pilot]

Oh, OK so it wasn't an engine failure? No expert but it didn't look like an autorotation.

Agreed. Looked very much to me like the water version of CFIT. ie Controlled Flight Into Water.

Pilot incapacition?

[TheGreenGoblin]

Oh, OK so it wasn't an engine failure? No expert but it didn't look like an autorotation.

Agreed. Looked very much to me like the water version of CFIT. ie Controlled Flight Into Water.

Pilot incapacition?

I suspect he misjudged his altitude over the water and effectively flew into the sea. CFIT, as you say, or as I now term it, CWAMS! He clearly flared and tried to round out before the impact. He may have been heavy handed when pulling the collective and effectively overpitched, causing the RRPM to drop, and thus the helicopter lost altitude and descended into the sea.

All supposition on my part without the need to ask for a METAR! Where's the fun in that! Descending too fast at too low an altitude with insufficient power margin on a hot day!

It is amazing the stuff one can conjure up from a blurred image of a distant crash. Whatever the cause I am happy that they all survived!

Good videos here on the difference between settling with power and overpitching. Either which may have been the case, or not, here.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Sadly another helicopter went down in the USA yesterday... killing one of the policemen on board and injuring the other.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/20/huntingto ... las-vella/

California police officer was killed and another critically injured after a law enforcement helicopter crash-landed into the water in Orange County on Saturday night.

The helicopter slammed into the water just after 6:30 p.m. in Newport Beach, about 40 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, in front of scores of people sitting on the beach, according to local reports.

Nicholas Vella, a 44-year-old, 14-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department, died as a result of injuries he sustained in the crash, Police Chief Eric Parra said at a press conference Saturday night.

Vella and his partner were both rescued from the water and transported to a local trauma center after the crash.

The other officer, a 16-year-veteran, is in stable condition at the trauma center, officials said.

It wasn’t clear what caused the crash. The aircraft was still in the water by 8 p.m. local time.

fficials confirmed that the helicopter belonged to the neighboring Huntington Beach Police Department.

“We can confirm that our police helicopter, HB1, crash landed in the Newport Beach area. Rescue efforts are underway & more information will be released when available,” the department wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Friday, another helicopter crashed into the ocean right off Miami Beach in Florida in front of hundreds of beachgoers. No casualties were reported in that crash.

[TheGreenGoblin]

I have watched that video again, and given the rotor behaviour as he flared, I do wonder if that could have been an autorotation that went wrong at the end due to the RRPM dropping too far.

Last comment from this punter before the official reports.

[PHXPhlyer]

Apparently, the pilot was not badly injured.
Not so for the pax.
At least the NTSB/FAA will get to hear his story.

PP

[FD2]

I have watched that video again, and given the rotor behaviour as he flared, I do wonder if that could have been an autorotation that went wrong at the end due to the RRPM dropping too far.

Last comment from this punter before the official reports.

It's all speculation - especially over on TOP as usual - but we can see the course of events and the result. Now I will wait for the results of the investigation too. As pp says, at least the pilot can give his account and maybe give a commentary on what is happening through the video clip. Was there a passenger, pp?

[PHXPhlyer]

Two pax apparently in back seat.
It was a sightseeing flight.
Both pax hospitalized with pretty bad back injuries.

PP

[FD2]

Thanks. Hit the water pretty fast with rapid ROD by the look of it.

[TheGreenGoblin]

The pilot who crashed his helicopter Saturday into the ocean off South Beach says he intentionally landed in shallow waters near the shore but away from beach crowds — a decision that allowed nearby swimmers to help rescue him and his two passengers. Robert Arkin, a licensed commercial pilot who is also the president of a Miami Beach construction firm, said on Tuesday that he and his passengers, both of whom were taken to the hospital, were lucky to be alive. He noted that no one on the ground was injured when he crash-landed his Robinson R44 helicopter just feet away from the packed 10th Street beach about 1:20 p.m. Bystanders sprung into action to try and help the passengers of the helicopter before paramedics arrived. First responders thanked them for helping keep the helicopter from sinking while rescue crews rushed the passengers to the hospital. “Everyone survived!” Arkin told the Miami Herald in a private message on Facebook. “I saw a shallow spot with no people and flew the [helicopter] to that exact location.” The helicopter appears to have departed from the Florida Keys and traveled north along the coast before it experienced “vibrations” and dropped out of the air, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Arkin’s wife, Rochelle Mussary Arkin, and attorney Morgan Geller were also injured, according to news reports. The crash landing was caught on surveillance footage. Arkin did not respond to questions about what caused the crash or the nature of the flight. In a Facebook post Tuesday, Arkin also said he sustained multiple spine fractures but was able to leave the hospital. The other two passengers remained in the hospital but in stable condition, he said. “We were fortunate to walk away from this alive,” he wrote. “I wanted to thank each and every one of you individually who has reached out to extend their support and caring comments. We will be okay and thank god to fly another day. Love to you all!!” A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, told the Miami Herald that officials believe the helicopter took off from Marathon and was flying north when it experienced vibrations. It landed in about 4 feet of water.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/ ... rylink=cpy

Unlike The Beach Boys' song, these were Bad Vibrations.