The Piasecki H-21 tandem rotor helicopter was one of the first tandem rotor helicopter, entering service in 1952. The helicopter was used for a series of controlled impact tests, in order to determine ways of improving survival methods in the event of a crash. Well, that last one seems brutal… hardly anybody would survive that one!
What I know about this video is that the helicopter is an Enstrom and is somewhere off the coast of Ireland on the deck of a Greenpeace ship. One of the deck straps was not released correctly. The pilot managed to control the helicopter but damaging the anti-torque rotor blades in the process. Check out the guy in the back as the blades pass inches away from his head. Good thing this didn’t turn into a disaster.
The Russian built Mil Mi-14 “Haze” is an amphibious version of the Mil Mi-8 Hip helicopter. Used mainly for naval operations such as anti-submarine warfare and mine counter-measures, the Mi-14 is also used for SAR (search and rescue) as well as other operations. In May 2006, a Mi-14 participated in a simulated oil spill emergency response situation off the coast of Japan. The helicopter crashed and started to take water. The pilot tried to take off but the rotor blades hit the water and the engine exploded. The pilot of the helicopter was killed.
It is always cool to try to impress your friends with some crazy low level stunts. They remain amazed at your courage and you will feel king of the skies. Of course you need to have the skills for such a demanding task, otherwise they’ll get the scare of a lifetime and you’ll finish the day on a hospital bed thinking what the hell possessed you to do such a crazy thing. So remember, doing crazy death spirals is cool only if you succeed in landing on your feet afterwards.
In 1997 at an airshow in Bratislava one member of the Russian Knights aerobatic team forgot to lower the landing gear of his Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. As a result of this incident, only helicopters were allowed to perform that day. As for the aircraft, there was some damage to the underside but nothing major. The plane took off heading for Russia only two days later. Very solid plane… and beautiful too…
Tis Thunderbird F-16 pilot was tried to do a Split-S, but he miscalculated his height and started the maneuver too early. He managed to eject safely just 0.8 seconds before his plane bites the dust.
This helicopter crew wanted to help out a few guys that had a boat engine problem. Well, that was a really stupid decision, since their helicopter went down for a swim. Not the brightest of helicopter pilots.
This F-14 Tomcat came in for a high speed pass. Water vapor was cool, noise was great, crew of the USS John Paul Jones was enthused…. But when the plane climbed away, something crazy happened…. the large fireball and the loud BANG exploded into everyone’s years.
The F-22 Raptor is the newest and greatest USAF stealth fighter jet. And it is also a very expensive one. Want to see a 100 million $US crash? Check this out.
This pilot was trying to entertain the crowds with some low level aerobatic stunts. Worked just fine but he pulled out too low, sending him on a one way ticket trip to destination dust. And boy, did he bite the dust…
