Maviac
Well-Known Member
It’s hard to explain if you’ve never flown a heli and never been in IMC. I’m not pretending to be an expert but I’ve done both. It’s definitely a lot of workload, especially when your charter certificate prohibits IFR, you’re in marginal conditions, and you have a VIP in the back and a tight deadline. Flying a heli is somewhat more difficult that fixed-wing too (I’d say much harder but that’s probably due to much less heli experience) from a stability standpoint. Transitioning to IFR unexpectedly is more difficult that filing IFR from the start. All of this is why virtually every pilot of these things, and every single expert who’s looking into it, at least that I’ve read about, agree that this was a disorientation issue rather than something mechanical.I'm not a pilot but why is orientation in a heli so complicated? Just make sure the heli is "level" (ie, no pitch or roll) and ascend to a safe altitude until you can make a decision on what do next --- hovering is a perfectly good option if you're in a heavy fog bank and lose visual clues
Again, it had two engines, and turbines don’t “sputter.” Im not sure why you’re “peeved” about the expert consensus (I’m certainly not peeved that you disagree and enjoy the discussion, though I assume others are getting annoyed at me, so sorry for that) but your argument just doesn’t seem realistic based on everything we know. I lost a friend about 5 years ago, an airline pilot with 2x the experience as this guy, under very similar circumstances (in his personal plane, not an airliner). Even the best pilots make mistakes.