View Full Version : MH-60 Dipped in Lake Tahoe
I am betting someone is fortunate to be alive...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYExH8hpgXI
mojaveman
09-24-2010, 17:47
That looked like a pretty touchy manuver. If the rotors would have hit the water wouldn't it have destroyed the aircraft?
That looks like an "E" ticket ride..
But why??
Hovering at 10 ft to let troops out would be safer for everyone??
and a hole lot better for the aircraft..
:munchin:confused:
More than $50,000 and less than $500,000 damage. (http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100924/NEWS/100929871/1001&parentprofile=1056)
Pat
More than $50,000 and less than $500,000 damage. (http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100924/NEWS/100929871/1001&parentprofile=1056)
Pat
Thanks Pat,
I though the lead chopper was going into auto rotate and slapped down,
But it also looked like the 2nd did nearly the same after the 1st gained altitude..
Very Strange..
longrange1947
09-25-2010, 08:44
It looks like that point in a hover when you loose the ground effect and suddenly go into a spin and hit. He lucked out and was able to pull out of it but I will bet he needed new draws. I will bet that due to the close proximity of the water like maybe 1 foot, ground effect was able to pull him out. :D
I believe there is another UTube that shows a helicopter doing that over dry land and not being able to regain ground effect until it disintegrated.
Just my uneducated guess. But I will lay money on it not being planned!! :munchin
drymartini66
09-28-2010, 23:33
That looks like a pretty touchy manuver. If the rotors hit the water won't it destroy the aircraft?
Yes, makes for a very bad day.
Black Knight
09-29-2010, 21:11
That looks like a pretty touchy manuver. If the rotors hit the water won't it destroy the aircraft?
With that particular aircraft, if the rotors hit it would be all over. The aircraft would immediately flip upside down and then sink to a depth of around 33 feet. It would stay at that depth for a short period then continue it's descent to Davy Jones Locker.
These guys were very lucky no one was injured. HSM-41 is a training squadron, and although I have heard neither pilot was a student; I'm guessing they weren't familiar with the power demands of hovering that aircraft at that altitude. The 60 is a great bird, but it doesn't like to hover at higher altitudes when it's heavy and it is also warm outside. The air just isn't that good. Take that into account and then add the winds coming off the mountains and coming across the lake.
The youtube flight might very well be their last.
BK
(_?_)es!!!!
US Navy officials from the Pentagon told NBC News this was not a training mission, but that the two helicopter crews were allegedly attempting to take photos of each other’s helicopters hovering just above the waters of Lake Tahoe with the mountains as a majestic backdrop when their photo op went horribly wrong.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local-beat/Navy-Choppers-Damaged-in-Bizarre-Incident--103734869.html
Richard :munchin
Ambush Master
09-29-2010, 22:38
With that particular aircraft, if the rotors hit it would be all over. The aircraft would immediately flip upside down and then sink to a depth of around 33 feet. It would stay at that depth for a short period then continue it's descent to Davy Jones Locker.
These guys were very lucky no one was injured. HSM-41 is a training squadron, and although I have heard neither pilot was a student; I'm guessing they weren't familiar with the power demands of hovering that aircraft at that altitude. The 60 is a great bird, but it doesn't like to hover at higher altitudes when it's heavy and it is also warm outside. The air just isn't that good. Take that into account and then add the winds coming off the mountains and coming across the lake.
The youtube flight might very well be their last.
BK
HELL YES THEY WERE LUCKY, these folks had NO Clue where they were!! Navy OPERATES at Sea Level!!! I doubt that "Density Altitude" was/or is, even in their vernacular/mindset!! Not unlike our Brother Squeals, when they are beyond the sight of water, .......they have a problem!!
Not a Slam on EITHER, but a simple statement of HISTORY!!
Take care.
Martin
Utah Bob
09-29-2010, 23:01
Hot dogging.:rolleyes:
At least the water in the cabin allowed the crew chiefs to wash out their shorts.
drymartini66
09-29-2010, 23:13
Hot dogging.:rolleyes:
At least the water in the cabin allowed the crew chiefs to wash out their shorts.
The pilots I'm sure weren't so fortunate.
drymartini66
09-29-2010, 23:19
HELL YES THEY WERE LUCKY, these folks had NO Clue where they were!! Navy OPERATES at Sea Level!!! I doubt that "Density Altitude" was/or is, even in their vernacular/mindset!! Not unlike our Brother Squeals, when they are beyond the sight of water, .......they have a problem!!
Not a Slam on EITHER, but a simple statement of HISTORY!!
Take care.
Martin
Lucky is right. I can't imagine the sh@t strom that has hit the squadron where these birds come from. More folks than just the crews involved are going to have the family jewels put between an anvil and a ball peen hammer.:eek:
HELL YES THEY WERE LUCKY, these folks had NO Clue where they were!! Navy OPERATES at Sea Level!!! I doubt that "Density Altitude" was/or is, even in their vernacular/mindset!! So you're saying pulling this stunt at 6230' MSL (NGVD 1929) is a bad idea? Kinda like having R. Lee Ermey as a therapist?
So you're saying pulling this stunt at 6230' MSL (NGVD 1929) is a bad idea?
If you read some of the talking heads,, They would lead you to believe this stunt was planned as part of a training exercise.
If this is "as planned"
Gonna be a hole-lot-a shiite to hit the fan..
:munchin;):eek:
Very glad to read HSM-41 and not my BIL's company out of Hunter AAF. Not that those guys ever do anything sketchy with their -60s. :D
Black Knight
10-01-2010, 08:00
HELL YES THEY WERE LUCKY, these folks had NO Clue where they were!! Navy OPERATES at Sea Level!!! I doubt that "Density Altitude" was/or is, even in their vernacular/mindset!! Not unlike our Brother Squeals, when they are beyond the sight of water, .......they have a problem!!
Not a Slam on EITHER, but a simple statement of HISTORY!!
Take care.
Martin
lol
I think it is more of a ding on the pilots and their level of training instead of the Navy as a whole. HSM-41 is a training squadron that trains pilots and aircrew how to perform mainly ASW and SAR. They are not trained for mountain flying and in addition the aircraft was not set up for that mission.
With that said, there are Navy pilots and aircrew who are trained to fly in this enviroment. Granted they aren't the 160th, but who else is? Navy CSAR crews provide direct support for our pilots and SPECWAR guys during overland missions. We kind of had to get in the business when the AF guys started bitching about crew rest. :p (I kid)
I have been to CSAR school and mountain flying school, and the guys coming out of there are top notch. They would have known better not to pull this stunt.
So I'm a bit confused here; were they at an altitude where the helicopter could not hover above the water, and thus when tried, almost crashed...?A little Google never hurt anyone...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/density-altitude.htm
Someone can kiss their career Good BYE..
http://www.military.com/news/article/navy-facebook-stunt-almost-dooms-helos.html?ESRC=eb.nl
Navy Facebook Stunt Almost Dooms Helos
December 24, 2010
Knight Ridder/Tribune
RENO, Nev --- Navy personnel did more than a half million dollars' damage to their helicopters while trying to shoot photos for their Facebook page over Lake Tahoe, military investigators revealed.
A report released this week described how ten U.S. Navy crew members narrowly averted disaster when their helicopters accidentally dipped into Lake Tahoe in September while they tried to take photos for the squadron's Facebook page.
Crew members from HSM-41 at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego were returning from an air show in Sacramento when they tried to maneuver their helicopters about 70 feet above the lake to take the Facebook photos.
The Navy report found that crew members' unplanned hovering without sufficient power caused the MH-60R Seahawks to drop without warning to the water of Emerald Bay. Both aircraft were able to regain altitude and land nearby.
continued.....
Someone can kiss their career Good BYE..
They were over the deepest part of the lake (around 1600') when they pulled that stunt...the helicopters would have never been recovered if they were swamped and the eco-nazis in the Tahoe Basin would have howled about the lost purity of the lake...stoopid...