Re: Helicopter knocks out cable car, killing nine.

[Flyingmonk]

Freak accident, considering the timing of the speed of helicopter, the
height and the speed of the falling load and the speed of the tramcar.
What are the odds?

My sicerest condolences to the family of the deceased and the injured
and my best wishes for the pilot and his family. A tragedy for all.

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

[Shiver]

> Flyingmonk > wrote:

> Freak accident, considering the timing of the speed of helicopter, the
> height and the speed of the falling load and the speed of the tramcar.
> What are the odds?

Just goes to show how fleeting life can be.

Imagine in the last minute.... people laughing and giggling, enjoying
the view, taking pictures, and a moment later sheer terror as they are
thrown from the gonola or caught in the gondola as it hurls to the
ground.

[Flyingmonk]

Mr. Timber wrote:
>Just goes to show how fleeting life can be.

>Imagine in the last minute.... people laughing and giggling, enjoying
>the view, taking pictures, and a moment later sheer terror as they are
>thrown from the gonola or caught in the gondola as it hurls to the
>ground.

I didn't think of that, but now that you brought it up... It must have
been horible.

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

[Flyingmonk]

Who's at fault, who's gonna pay for this?

The management?
The pilot?
The tram operator?

Bryan "The Monk" Chaisone

[Morgans]

"Flyingmonk" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Who's at fault, who's gonna pay for this?
>
> The management?
> The pilot?
> The tram operator?

Company the pilot was flying for, and if any fault can be found with the
equipment the company was using, (rigging, ect) that company, too.

My guess is the pilot will be OK, except for being fired, and being cited by
the aviation authorities, for doing "something wrong to be determined
later", and will be needing a career change. His pockets are not going to
be found as deep enough for the lawyers to go after.

YMMV
--
Jim in NC

[Stefan]

Morgans wrote:

> My guess is the pilot will be OK, except for being fired, and being cited by
> the aviation authorities, for doing "something wrong to be determined
> later", and will be needing a career change. His pockets are not going to
> be found as deep enough for the lawyers to go after.

This happened in Austria, not in the USA.

Stefan

[150flivver]

Is it just me or doesn't the term risk management mean anything to
anyone? You wouldn't find me anywhere underneath a crane lifting 1500
pounds of concrete much less a helicopter! Don't you think the cable
car company should shoulder some responsibility for not shutting down
the tourist operation while a helicopter was slingloading concrete
overhead? Sounds like pure greed or sheer stupidity or both.

Anyone see the video of a Chinook lifting a sculpture onto a bridge in
Korea when one of the rotors clips the load? Wouldn't want to have
been underneath that one either. It's "Helicopter Crash 5" in the link:
http://www.alexisparkinn.com/aviation_videos.htm

[Flyingmonk]

If I read correctly (somewhere forgot where) the helicopter was fixing
the tram or pouring more foundations for the tram. The tram operation
should have been shut down, IMHO, if the helicopter had no alternative
route.

The Monk

[Peter Duniho]

"Martin Hotze" > wrote in message
...
> hmm. what are the odds? the cable car in a 90 deg angle to the helicopter
> route, both at decent speed.
> if you WANT to hit the target under these circumstances you probably won't
> make it.

I don't know how they run things in Europe, but around here, Murphy's Law
prevails.

I agree that carrying a hazardous load over an operating cable car was poor
judgment. No matter how unlikely a bad outcome might have been.

Pete

[150flivver]

"well, planes (up to B737 etc.) at our local airport here (LOWI) depart
over
the city, too. we can't shut down the whole city for all those planes.
And
our rescue helicopters are flying over our highways, too. halting the
traffic on this very highway brings half od Europe to a stop. "

Now there's a silly comparison! There's a difference between an
airliner taking off or LifeFlight helicopter flying to and from a
hospital and a helicopter carrying an external load and probably
operating near its performance limit (mountainous terrain, heavy load)
over children and tourists. In Europe, are school kids allowed to tour
local construction sites and stand underneath as materials are lifted?
If this is prohibited in Europe, the same common sense applies to the
even more dangerous operation of helicopters lifting concrete.

[Peter Duniho]

"Martin Hotze" > wrote in message
...
> well, planes (up to B737 etc.) at our local airport here (LOWI) depart
> over
> the city, too. we can't shut down the whole city for all those planes.

Ever heard of "cost/benefit analysis"?

> And our rescue helicopters are flying over our highways, too. halting the
> traffic on this very highway brings half od Europe to a stop.

Are your rescue helicopters carrying 750kg blocks of concrete? If so, you
may want to reconsider a) where you have them fly, and b) what they are
carrying. If not, I fail to see the relevance.

The point here is that the cost of rerouting the helicopter or temporarily
suspending operation of the cable car is incredibly small, compared to the
potential cost of an accident, no matter how unlikely.

Pete