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CatLords t1_je8wp8i wrote

Army Aviation seems particularly dangerous compared to the other branches.

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sagaxwiki t1_je9k50b wrote

Besides the fact that helicopters are inherently less safe than fixed wing aircraft, they also tend to operate nearer to the ground giving pilots less time to react when something goes wrong. The other services also have relatively frequent rotary wing accidents, but the Army has a lot more helicopters and this more accidents.

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jtmarshiii t1_jebg46c wrote

Good thing they do training runs in the middle of towns and cities... I wish they'd stop. Someone posted a drill being run in the heart of San Diego? and all I thought was one of these birds is going to go down and take out a apartment.

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M_H_M_F t1_je9z0ll wrote

Frankly it's on heli's which are normally less safe than fixed wing, or Ospreys which while look cool, inherently just suck.

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-Raskyl t1_jea4rsp wrote

Ospreys actually have a really good track record after the initial issues. Probably better than helicopters.

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Pollymath t1_jeams68 wrote

Probably because they don't spend as much time loitering, and the can taxi without being off the ground. From what I hear, V-22 pilots really do respect their craft far more than any other pilot because the vehicles scare the shit of them.

Our local small airport is a frequent stop-over for many military aircraft and last time I watched a group of Blackhawk and Apache take off together they taxied, in the air, on a path usually used by fixed wing, including turns, then ran down the runway at low alt before taking off...again, like fixed wing.

While it was cool, it just seemed kind of unnecessary.

Helos are fucking badass but I have some concerns about how much we use them for mundane training tasks, especially in groups.

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jtmarshiii t1_jebgxkp wrote

Unnecessary to follow airport traffic patterns? Hate to fly to that airport if I didn't know where or how aircrafter where departing. If a small uncontrolled airport its more important since unaware pilots have no tower to tell you that a heli just jumped up and took off from the apron.

Happens at my airport with private helos and paramotors all the time and it sucks. You line up for departure and you see out of the corner of your eye something taking off and cutting near the runway. Yes, I have reported them to FAA for what it is worth.

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deaddonkey t1_je9d28j wrote

Blackhawks have a very nasty habit of doing this too

Edit; ok guys Blackhawks are a safe helicopter that rarely crashes because they are cool and black, you are right

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d_wib t1_je9mslr wrote

I mean the Air Force flies the Pave Hawk which is more or less the same thing. I don’t think it’d be an issue with the airframe

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Jean-Rasczak t1_je9vzvs wrote

We used to call em Crashhawks when I was in

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deaddonkey t1_jeazmxi wrote

Yeah I’m getting downvoted but they factually have a shitload of crashes, I think some people don’t even realise this happens several times per year every year for the last 3 decades

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Jean-Rasczak t1_jebb1z1 wrote

The seats are meant to collapse in the event of hard landings and crashes. I always felts unsafe in one those and the shithooks

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MNWNM t1_jec4ozc wrote

To be fair, the Black Hawk that crashed last month in Alabama was an A model, which hasn't been produced since 1989. It was flown and maintained by a National Guard division, which often gets hand-me-downs from the Army. For a helicopter this old, its safety is largely dependent on how well it's maintained. Parts do degrade and break.

The helicopter that crashed today was an HH-60, a Medevac model. They collided in the air under NVG conditions, which is inherently dangerous because of the limited scope of viewing range due to the goggles. A collision like this doesn't reflect poorly on the safety of the airframe itself, but I would question if any C&W (caution and warning) systems alerted the pilots of the imminent collision. Investigators will also be looking heavily into the pilot's training record, and if proper flight protocols were followed leading up to the crash.

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Edward_Snowcone t1_je9vjl3 wrote

Yeah, not nearly as much as the osprey the marines use.

Hell, even the Chinooks the army uses have a bleak track record. Blackhawks are pretty decent birds

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CW1DR5H5I64A t1_je9vx3f wrote

The Osprey has one of the safest flight records of any airframe. They had a rough patch when they were initially adopted, but that was mostly pilot error. Once they got better training programs it has not had issues.

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Edward_Snowcone t1_je9yvmi wrote

Alright I did look it up, your right. I think my perception was skewed by the initial flight testing having lots of crashes. My bad

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__Arty__ t1_jea45hy wrote

That was a big thing during the initial trials of the Osprey. It had a handful of really high profile accidents and the media reported it as this insane death trap that killed anyone that looked at it.

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C-c-c-comboBreaker17 t1_je9wjt4 wrote

Transport helicopters are meant to be disposable. There's a reason we made so many.

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