US

Navy Investigates Helicopters‘ ’Dip’ in Lake Tahoe

Two Navy pilots are currently under scrutiny after a video posted on YouTube captured two helicopters flying low over Lake Tahoe.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a Navy spokesman has confirmed the footage shows two $33 million MH-60 Romeo helicopters from North Island’s Helicopter Maritime Strike 41 squadron flying at extraordinarily low altitudes, dipping into the waters of Lake Tahoe. One of the aircraft appears to temporarily lose control, spinning and crashing into the water. The pilot then regains control and is able to pull the craft back into the air.

The Navy is now wrapping up an aviation mishpa board investigation of the Sept. 13 flight and has yet to identify the pilots involved. According to Lt. Aaron Kakiel, spokesman for the Naval Air Forces command at North Island, Lake Tahoe is not a normal training ground for Navy pilots. The pilots involved in the incident may face administrative action and even lose their flying qualifications depending on the outcome of the investigation.

According to the Union-Tribune, the damage estimates from the incident range between $50,000 and $500,000.

Watching the video made retired Navy jet pilot Steve Diamond think the helicopter crew may have had a legitimate reason to be hovering over Lake Tahoe.

Somebody out hotdogging probably wouldn’t do it in view of another aircrew, or over a popular tourist destination, said Diamond, who retired in 2002.

“Somebody has to be a total moron to do it in total view of tourists and in a recreational area, when everyone has a camera these days. We don’t really have morons flying naval aircraft,” he said.

“It’s possible they were troubleshooting a problem; you don’t know,” Diamond said. “It’s easy to make a snap judgment, but there are other possibilities.”

Comments (80)

1 2
  • The Good Source 101
    Posted on September 25, 2010 at 12:50am

    I want THAT Pilot flying missions protecting my Country! Skill should be rewarded, permission or not.

    Report Post » The Good Source 101  
  • Nightstalker
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:49pm

    What we see in the video is called loss of tailrotor effectiveness.
    It can be caused by a variety of things, from mechanical failure to strong tail winds during a hover!
    The only thing you can do is nose down the aircraft and auto rotate.
    Looks to me like the pilot performed perfectly!
    The altitude and lake flight path are both meaningless!
    They can fly any where, except to lunch at Mcdonalds!

    Report Post » Nightstalker  
  • zippy
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:28pm

    I have nothing to say about this

    Report Post »  
  • NAVY8R
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:49pm

    2c from a former Navy Helo pilot (3000 hrs, Jet Ranger, Huey, H-3 and H-60′s). Mork I’m not sure where you got your info but you may want to consider new sources. Lift characteristics over water are no different than over land. Air is air. Having flown H-60′s off ships, in the desert and all points between (including over Lake Tahoe – minus the hovering) my guess is that these guys entered into a helicopter aerodynamic phenomenon known as vortex ring state. Knowing the location and time of year leads one to expect a high density altitude (high temperature combined with high altitude – Tahoe approx. 4K ft. above sea level) essentially leads to thinner air from the rotors perspective as well as less power from the engines. We called it the three H’s. High, Hot and Heavy. The heavy part is probably a full fuel load plus crew if their destination was all the way down to San Diego. It is possible under these conditions if entering into a hover from a descent (the usual way) the rotors descend into their own wash – for lack of a better term – dirty air (disturbed). This then becomes a compounding problem as you pull more power to slow your rate of descent – increasing the downwash and creating more “dirty” air that you then descend into even more rapidly. There is only one solution and that is to push forward on the cyclic (the stick in between your legs which tilts the rotor fwd, left, right and back) while reducing pull on the collective (the lever to your left which controls engine power and rotor pitch for lift) In order to do this you must have a decent amount of altitude to essentially semi-dive out of the dirty air and swoop it out. In this case, at low altitude, that was not an option as he would not have been able to recover before essentially flying into the water at a higher rate of speed which would be disastrous.
    Given these circumstances, the best option was indeed to let the aircraft settle at a flat (slightly spinning is still flat) attitude, get down into the regiion of air just above the water (or ground) known as “ ground effect”. At this point the vortex ring state is basicallly nullified because you can’t descend any more. You can then just pull back up into a hover – nose into the wind and fly away.
    That the helicopter was yawing (spinning) slightly serves as more evidence. If a pilot demands more power from the aircraft than it can provide, the main rotor and the transmission that drive it will actually begin to bog down. Since the tail rotor is also driven off of this transmission, if it slows down it will not be able to counter the enormous counter-rotative torque of the main rotor hence the lazy spin of the helo fuselage before impact. That the aircraft did not roll over after spinning in does I think speak to both the skill of the pilot and a bit of luck in not making a bad situation worse. Why they were entering a hover over Lake Tahoe is another story. Since it is the NAVY, we normally do our overwater training over the really big water – aka oceans. I expect someone to be at attention in front of the Admiral with their ears open and mouth shut come Monday morning. So, in the midst of all this political jockeying – a helicopter aerodynamics lesson. Who would have guessed.

    Report Post »  
    • H60R Pilot
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:14pm

      Yeah. I didn’t think of vortex ring state. That may have gotten them into the situation initially. Vortex ring state is settling with power so no matter how much collective you pull, you just keep falling. The engine doesn’t spool down with vortex ring state though so when they tried to dip the nose to fly out of it, the helo then must have entered into power req’d > power avail and then lost tail rotor effectiveness. If they were at an airshow, I‘d expect that they had pulled the dipper so the helo wasn’t as heavy as it could have been. But I’m sure they put good use to that extra space with a cruise box full of stuff to sell at the airshow. A full helicopter filled with all of the avionics, people, gear, and full bag of gas is not a good thing when you want to hover in the mountains.

      Report Post »  
    • Huckabee Gingrich 12
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:24pm

      Thanks for this very informative briefing, also.
      It can’t be said often enough: Thank you for your service, gentlemen.

      Report Post » Huckabee Gingrich 12  
    • sodizzy
      Posted on September 26, 2010 at 4:22am

      Thank you for adding clearly to the explanation of what happened.

      An interested civilian, admirer and fan of all my protectors.

      Report Post » mlcblog  
  • H60R Pilot
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:12pm

    I recently transitioned out of flying but did get to fly a romeo version helicopter that you saw in the video before I transitioned. The real story is that both helicopters went into the water (notice the woman said “Is the other one going in too?”) and caused a great deal of damage to both. The pilots did go to an airshow in Sacramento and were flying back to San Diego. They had just filled up with fuel so they were very heavy at the time. They decided to, in formation, come to a hover over the water. Because they were heavy at the time and the altitude is about 6300 feet MSL, hovering takes a great deal more power than if it were done where these pilots usually do most of their practice for seach and recovery or anti submarine dipping missions which is usually done over the ocean at Mean Sea Level. So as they transitioned to a hover, they got into a situation where power required to hover exceeded power available. You can tell because you hear the rotors spool down up until the part where they hit the water. At this point they are in ground effect which is a little boost of lift when an aircraft is within one rotor disc of the ground or water. BTW. Lift is the same whether over water or land. They did a max gross weight takeoff from that point which is staying in ground effect as you creep the speed forward until you reach translational lift and can fly it out. The reason why you saw a right spin is because the rotors turn counter clockwise which creates a right torque on the helicopter. The tail rotor on a helicopter is what corrects for the right spin and usually can do that when the rotors are turning at a 100%. Now a tail rotors effectiveness is the square of the main rotors speed which we call Nr. So when the aircraft is at a 100%, the tail rotors effectiveness is also 100%. When the helicopter was in the situation of power required greater than power available, to keep altitude the with the pitch on the blades, the rotors began to slow and there wasn’t enough power to catch them back up and keep them hovering. As they were decending, the pilot was pulling as much power as he could and he kept falling which made him pull more and the helicopter continued to fall. So if he lowered the Nr on the rotors just to 90%, the tail rotor effectiveness was then 81%. However, from the sound of the helicopter, it sounded like Nr got to around 80% or even 70%. So the tail rotor effectiveness at 80% Nr is 64% and at 70% Nr it is 49%! The tail rotor could not overcome the right torque so the helicopter fell and spun to the right.

    They did a great deal of damage to the helicoters from the water entries. I can almost guantee that both helicopters have over $500,000 each and the amount of inspections required due to overtorquing the transmission and other structural damage will take these helicopters out of service for a while.

    How both helicopters did not have the rotors hit the water and flip is beyond me. Their luck buckets are now totally empty. Sadly, this is probably the last flight for these four pilots, at least two aircrewmen, and whoever else from the squadron was with them as they are probably going to lose their wings or other qualifications. Ultimately the pilots in command of each helicopter are responsible for everyone aboard but the others should have spoken up.

    Report Post »  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:51pm

      Thank you, Your math proves my more intuitive instinct of what actually happened.
      As to why they would be performing these maneuvers on the way back from an air show is a matter of efficiency… Get all training possible out of the way while you are airborne.
      Regardless, that chopper hit the water at a bad angle of entry… Gods hand is without doubt.

      Report Post »  
    • Huckabee Gingrich 12
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:15pm

      Thank you for that very interesting and enlightening read.

      Report Post » Huckabee Gingrich 12  
    • jcatlanta
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 12:51am

      I work at the factory that builds the MH-60R (I’m an MRB engineer on all the helicopters at the factory; MH-60R, UH-60M, X-2, CH-148 etc…) and I totally concur with your assessment after watching a third time. I didn‘t realize it was at tahoe which is alot higher than I’m sure they were used to. Between being heavy with fuel and high altitude, there was alot against them. I agree it was a miracle the main blades didn’t hit the water. If they had it would have been all over. God was watching out for them that day. I also agree with the inspections and repairs, it will easily be several thousand on each aircraft.

      Report Post » jcatlanta  
    • sodizzy
      Posted on September 26, 2010 at 3:22am

      Thank you. Sounds authoritative and setting the record straight. Thank you for your courage to post, and thank you Blaze for this provocative story. Let the people speak!!

      Report Post » mlcblog  
  • Greyhound424
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:15pm

    Did anybody think to ask the pilots what they were doing instead of guessing what they were doing?

    Report Post »  
  • Ruler4You
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:10pm

    Cool to see that our Helicopters might be able to survive a temporary (significant) contact with water.

    Report Post » Ruler4You  
  • Dennisgl
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:09pm

    The pilot probably pushed the envelope a little too much. But this was a real learning experience for him. What kind of pilot would you like to have in combat, one who has had real world experience such as this or one who has had only experience flying in a straight line in good weather. This is the guy I would want in my corner in a real world battle situation. He now knows his limits and how to handle them. If he caused $100000 dollars damage why would I want to get rid of him? I just spent $100000 dollars training him!

    Report Post » Dennisgl  
  • LoisLane1951
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 8:22pm

    Top Gun in the whirley bird…for sure!

    Report Post » LoisLane1951  
  • BigWes
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:43pm

    Looks like a unintentional close call to me.. As long as they were doing something legit on that lake and not just playing around with a $33 mil. chopper I don’t see the problem..

    @Luvs2Ski Chill out a little.. No one is busting on the Navy… If you read the story it’s as neutral as reporting gets..

    Report Post » BigWes  
    • bettycooper
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 8:48pm

      they had to have permission to be in close proximity, yes? why not test the waters, so to speak. If this little dip in the friendly drink works for the pilots, it works for me.

      Report Post »  
  • Spirit-of-76
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:28pm

    I’m not convinced this was an emergency situation, and like others have said I cannot believe 2 seperate crews deciding to play like that, although that is possible. I was Navy and the testosterone gets going at times, but typically out of the reach of civilians. No matter what the Navy PR folks said it could have been training. Not sure why that location though. Mysterious.

    Report Post » Spirit-of-76  
  • Luvs2Ski
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:13pm

    Luv ya Blaze but c’mon bustn on the Navy with a homemade video, putting it out for everyone to monday morning quaterback, how bout we find out what happened before we pre-maturely throw our guys or gals under the bus…
    BTW my son is a UH 60 crew chief and according to him you’d be amazed at what that air craft can do..

    Report Post »  
  • chazman
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:04pm

    Pushin’ the outside of the envelope, I’d say!

    Report Post »  
  • youhavenoidea
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:00pm

    From the looks of it seems to be loss of tail rotor effectiveness causing right rotation and loss of lift as a result of high density altitude, gross weight and lack of headwind resulting in aircraft water impact, PR nightmare for the Navy and two crews lucky to be alive

    Report Post »  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:26pm

      You are on the right track… look again… it is left rotation… What happens with loss of power to the tail rotor. At that altitude it would have been a survivable crash… Apparently God had other ideas.

      Report Post »  
    • H60R Pilot
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:27pm

      Sounds like you know exactly what you are talking about. I’m sure that this video will be shown to pilots for years to come just like the video we have all seen with the pilots who tried to go between the trees. “Think I can make it?”… “Nope”… “Oh yee of little faith”

      Just like they say the NATOPS is written in blood, I think nobody is going to blow off HIGE and HOGE calculations from now on. Too bad that a momentary lapse in judgement can cause so much damage to a helicopter and a career.

      Report Post »  
    • H60R Pilot
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 10:44pm

      Meso,

      It was spinning to the right like a loss of tail rotor drive or effectiveness. We know it wasn‘t drive because they didn’t spin out of control and then crash into the water. You and I both know that you can’t fly out of a loss of drive and a spinning cutgun is the only EP at that altitude for a loss of drive. You can hear Nr spool down and see the loss of effectiveness with a right spin. This is what happens when you lose windline or try to hover and need an armload of collective.

      Report Post »  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:02pm

      Well sure you are correct.. Just as when I worked on the Intruder aircraft and had to explain to the pilot upon landing that the blood and fur stuck to the turbine blades was not from a bird strike… but rather, he ingested a squirrel from a treetop.

      Report Post »  
    • H60R Pilot
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 11:21pm

      Meso,

      That’s an awesome story. I bet the squirrel never saw it coming. Maybe the Intruder ingested a flying squirrel.. haha… Good to hear that the pilot made it back even after ingesting the squirrel. Wasn’t it an A-6 that ingested an airman once when he stood up infront of the inlet? I think it was if I remember correctly. He made it out alive because his helmet took most of the damage from the compressor blades.

      Report Post »  
  • troyvar
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:51pm

    I got it. It’s a lot of work washing bugs off the bottom.

    Report Post » troyvar  
  • MorkfromOrk
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:42pm

    Yea, they would probably like to walk that whole day back. If you read the companion story (estimates) they were returning from an air show and after this incident had to land at a local airport. Two different pilots flew the birds home. I’m sure the Navy was not real happy with these aviators, whatever their reason for the maneuvers. Hovering over water is dangerous because water does not provide as much lift as when over land. You get sudden ups and downs and it takes a lot of practice to safely perform these maneuvers. Hence why it dipped in the water. The aviator was damn lucky to recover.

    Report Post » MorkfromOrk  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:25pm

      You are partially understanding the truth… Warm water would produce thin air and less lift, a cold current from the bottom of the lake would provide cold, dense air and more lift. This could very well be the cause of this near catastrophe… But it looks to me more like a temporary mechanical malfunction.

      Report Post »  
    • C. Schwehr
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:44pm

      I such a situation where there are questions, an investigation is held to immediately discover the facts of the situation. In this case, it does appear that the spiraling aircraft had a tail rotor problem and had the good luck and skill to recover and get it down at the local airport. After reporting such an incident (mandatory, I would assume) the crews involved would be called in to debrief for the investigators and another crew would fly the craft back.
      As for the question about landing on water, the area around the lake was HEAVILY FORESTED and landing in water would be preferrable to pancaking into the trees! Water landings are never good but it’s better than slamming into trees. My commendation to the pilot of the craft in trouble, and let’s hope there are no repercussions.

      Report Post »  
  • pajamash
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:35pm

    “Somebody has to be a total moron to do it in total view of tourists and in a recreational area, when everyone has a camera these days. We don’t really have morons flying naval aircraft,”

    I hope your right Navy Jet Pilot Diamond, however, who would have thought 10 plus Chrysler employees would be out driking during a shift. Especially doing it in such a large group. I just can’t fathom a reason an officer/commander would instruct a pilot to dip a 30 plus million dollar piece of machinery in the water.

    Report Post »  
  • JoeSixPack
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:26pm

    Methinks these guys were picking up rescue swimmers.

    Report Post »  
  • Venom
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:24pm

    It makes good Youtube footage…i really don’t see what the big deal is….they risk their lives for us and so we criticize them for having fun??? If he would have crashed then yeah that would be bad but its his life. The people complaining about their tax dollars need to shut up! Go strap into to a helicopter and get shot at all the time in warzones and then you can have a say in it.

    Report Post » Venom  
    • Armed Patriot
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:59am

      As long as we are paying for it, we have a say in it. After reading and watching the clip, I would agree that it seems that something is wrong/went wrong. If they were playing games with the $33 Million dollar aircraft with 4 souls aboard we have a right to protest. Just because we didnt fly one and get shot at doesnt take that away. If there was a problem, these pilots deserve great praise. I will go with praise for now. Pray for them.

      Report Post » Armed Patriot  
  • MAULEMALL
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:17pm

    Navy/ Marine pilots are true profesionals… Rotory wing pilots of the Navy/ Marine corps are the best in the world..

    They don’t just “Play” with their aircraft.

    Report Post » MAULEMALL  
  • MESO71
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:16pm

    The low altitude is quite normal training. Search and Rescue swimmers don’t always dangle their way into the water from a cable… They jump! As do Navy SEALs and special forces teams. There are other reasons why a Navy ‘chopper would be that low as well.
    The altitude looked about right for training to me. That “dip” didn’t appear intentional by any stretch of the imagination.

    Report Post »  
    • pajamash
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:38pm

      “That “dip” didn’t appear intentional by any stretch of the imagination.”

      And you can tell this how?

      Report Post »  
    • MorkfromOrk
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:03pm

      If you read the original story, “estimates”, it tells they were coming from an air show and after the incident had to land at a local airport. Then two different aviators showed up to fly the birds home. The reason we can safely infer that dipping the helicopter in the lake was not intentional is the fact that its difficult to hover over water. The lift characteristics are quite different over water. It doesn’t provide as much lift, sudden ups and downs. The aviator was extremely lucky to have recovered the aircraft. They may have been trying to get a little extra water hovering training but it doesn’t matter, the Navy is clearly not happy for good reason.

      Report Post » MorkfromOrk  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:36pm

      PAJAMASH,
      Simple, If I were out to be a “hotdog” and “dip” a helicopter just because I could, it would most certainly be a straight in dip. Even if I were crazy, and wanted to dip while spinning, it would be a straight down decent. That helicopter had quite a bit of sideways momentum… Meaning that when it hit the water, it should have tipped onto its left side, dipping the rotors into the water and causing an immediate crash.
      From that video I can only come to two possible conclusions… That pilot just beat overwhelming odds and combined an amazing amount of skill with an overwhelming dose of luck. Or God had different plans!
      That spiral entry looked a lot more like a mechanical failure than intentional showboating.

      My personal opinion is that God has given this gift either for the pilot or aircrews sake, or for some observer to see a “small” miracle and come to or reaffirm his/her faith. Look around you, you will see that these miracles are happening more and more each day.
      I know, I have recently been doubly blessed by God and been carried through personal turmoil with a burden that only Jesus could carry me through.

      Report Post »  
    • pajamash
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 7:58pm

      MORKFROMORK = +2
      MESO71 = 0 sorry, but why would God choose to save this crew and let the one in Afghanistan perish?

       
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 8:40pm

      PAJAMASH.
      “MESO71 = 0 sorry, but why would God choose to save this crew and let the one in Afghanistan perish?”
      Jesus please forgive me for reducing Gods plan to an example of a game of chess.
      In Gods war against “Satan” we are all merely pawns. It matters not if you are a king, or a president, a pilot over Afghanistan, or over Lake Tahoe. We are but pawns in His service… But if you know chess, it is often the pawn that is sacrificed that enables the winning combination.
      It is not necessary to know how God wins… But to know that it is written and it is so! So it is merely upon you to choose your side.
      BTW God Bless You! For asking rather than accusing and insulting. You gave me the warm opportunity to “witness” rather than preach. I know from rather painful experience that God has his finger on my very soul. I still don’t know His ultimate plan for me… But I have learned not to question

      Report Post »  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:11pm

      PAJAMASH,
      If things were so simple that we could understand all… Then Gods plan would be plain to see. While this sounds great, it would reduce our free will and therefore nullify Gods plan.
      Love, trust, and compassion are gifts from God. If they were forced upon us they would be meaningless and without value

      Report Post »  
    • dynodonc
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:24pm

      I so totally agree. The finger of God (or whoever you believe in) has a very lasting impression.

      Report Post » dynodonc  
    • MESO71
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:58pm

      Or, my opinion could come from my fourteen years of experience in Naval aviation, and my years on the flight deck of numerous aircraft carriers… But if you think that you know better???

      Report Post »  
  • troyvar
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:00pm

    Spankin’ a lake with a chopper, way cool… It’s a story to tell the grandkids.

    Report Post » troyvar  
  • TwoMinuteMan
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 5:53pm

    Dear Navy,
    If you dont take care of your toys we wont buy you any more.

    Sincerely,
    Yourtaxdady.

    Report Post » TwoMinuteMan  
    • pajamash
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:37pm

      : ) Nice one Joe!!!

      Report Post »  
    • bookofwisdom
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 9:50am

      Dear Twominuteman,
      Why are you flying your United States Flag upside down? Not very patriotic of you.

      I have read all the responses and I would definitely want that Pilot piloting my chopper. To all of you enlisted and retired military “I solute you!“ and ”I Thank You!” for keeping me and my Country safe.

      Report Post » bookofwisdom  
    • RavenGlenn
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 11:32am

      Umm…BookOfWisdom, I hate to do this, but you realize that there is nothing un-patriotic about flying a flag upside down don’t you?

      Flying the flag upside down is a sign of distress. Obviously, in this case, he/she believes that the country is in distress right now. That is a stance that I can’t really argue with.

      Report Post »  
    • bookofwisdom
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 4:00pm

      Thank you Ravenglenn for setting me straight. I looked up the “Flag Code” and it does indeed state: “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” I appreciate knowing that. I hope I never have to use it that way. May God Bless!

      Report Post » bookofwisdom  
    • loriann12
      Posted on September 26, 2010 at 7:08am

      @bookofwisdom flying a flag upside down is a sign of distress. It’s not unpatriotic, it’s not disrespectful of the flag. It’s actually in the regs to do if you are in distress. There is a bit of contention with the Vietnam vets, though apparently, because some contries when they take over a country fly the flag upside down as a sign of victory. At least that‘s what I’ve had vets tell me.

      Report Post »  
  • carol m
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 5:47pm

    Well I for one truely hope that they were troubleshooting and not something else.

    Report Post »  
    • LBreath
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 6:27pm

      Ageed. The pilot deserves the benefit of the doubt. Let the facts surface before judgement is passed.

      MYRNEMCC is right. That was some amazing flying!

      Report Post »  
  • myrnemcc
    Posted on September 24, 2010 at 5:46pm

    Mr. Diamond, Sir, salute as I love the Navy, I have a Navy Corpsman, 18 years old– just got done with his FMTB…
    I thought that was fantastic flying!
    C’m on now– a chopper considering the weight, and what water can do to the motion of the rotors, the pilot was able to get out? You kiddin’ me? That was FANTASTIC!
    (..I’m partial of course)

    Report Post » myrnemcc  
    • plunderpower
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:00pm

      It looks to me like there was something wrong and the other helicopter waited to see if help was needed. It was going nose down and rotating…something was wrong. The pilot got the helicopter back running OK. I believe the Lake was probably the safest place to go if they were in trouble. I believe a major problem was fixed and an accident was averted.

      Report Post » plunderpower  
    • MSP22
      Posted on September 24, 2010 at 9:47pm

      It was exceptional flying. The kind of folks I want defending me. The problem is………………?

      Report Post » MSP22  
    • jcatlanta
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 12:35am

      My current job is working on the MH-60R as a repair engineer. The clip is so short its hard to make a definitive conclusion, but I’d wait to pass judgement on this one. It looked to me like one of them was having problems. If I was over water and having control problems, i think I’d get down on the deck myself. I watched it a couple of times and wondered if the lead ship was having problems with the tail rotor. It it wasn’t working correctly, it would rotate about the main rotor. Let’s wait for the investatgation and give the brave men that fly these the benefit of the doubt.

      Report Post » jcatlanta  
    • loriann12
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 7:48am

      I’ve heard that water is actually harder than ground when you hit it, so how was that safer? Is it possible it was a rescue mission, or they were looking for something? It’s also possible they were testing to see if it was possible to do. Sometimes we just don’t NEED to know all things with our military. This from a Navy veteran. I’m still of the mind that the Navy need to handle any disciplinary actions within the Navy. Some things the American people don’t need to broadcast to the public because they could be developing something that could keep us safe….tactics, or whatever. Of course with this administration, it could also be used against the American people…..where’s my tinfoil hat?

      Report Post »  
    • Irishred
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 9:19am

      Loriann12, if you really think hitting the water is worse than hitting the ground you should try diving into an empty swimming pool. You probably also heard that hot water will freeze faster than cold water right? Good grief, use your own brain and stop believing everything you hear.

      I happen to know several military helicopter pilots (all retired now). Most of them get plenty of chances to test the capabilities of their birds in real life combat or rescue operations without playing cowboy over a lake full of tourist. If he had destroyed that bird and killed a few folks I’d say an investigation is in order. Otherwise we need to leave it to the military and keep out of it. Believe me, they are a lot tougher on their own folks than we are on our civilian bone heads.

      Report Post »  
    • John 1776
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 9:32am

      Looks more like they were trying to figure out a problem and wanted to do it in a place that gave them the best chance of survival if things went wrong, as well as get to the bottom of it before flying over populated areas.

      Report Post » John 1776  
    • PeachyinGA
      Posted on September 25, 2010 at 8:59pm

      Absolutely no doubt in my mind that a pilot WOULD NOT hotdog over Lake Tahoe with a helicopter and most likely other crews lives. I’d stake my life on it that he was having trouble and other helicopter was waiting for a very real survival rescue. As for training mission, the government owns a lot of property where they can train, well away from the critical eye of civilians. Excellent flying Captain!

      Report Post » PeachyinGA  
    • Mousey
      Posted on September 26, 2010 at 3:08am

      Loriann12, if you really think hitting the water is worse than hitting the ground you should try diving into an empty swimming pool. <——- hilarious comment !!

      Report Post » Mousey  
    • loriann12
      Posted on September 26, 2010 at 7:03am

      irishred…ok, never hit water or empty pool. but I do have some military experience. I believe they should handle it on their own, unless there is obvious mishandling, like tailhook. I kept my nose clean while in the military so I can’t speak to how things get handled in the military…I heard stories, and I had it drilled into my head about the chain of command, so I never went against it. That‘s why it’s so hard for me to go against this commander in chief…or it was in the beginning. He’s gotten to where I ALMOST have lost respect for the office, as well as the man….almost. I believe I would still jump in front of a bullet even if it was Obama, just out of habit, and then slap my head in a “What was I doing?” moment…..just kidding…..

      Report Post »  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love