PA State Helo & Cessna 150 Midair

MikeD said:
New video angle from airport security cams show the Cessna with about 30 seconds or so spacing behind the helo slowing to a landing downfield past midfield. Appears to be either landing long or going around, before the loss of control and impact with the helo.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmKfOttj6VU
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Tricky, but it certainly seems like it's within the envelope of time that rotor wash could have impacted him as he was commencing the go around. Does that wake bounce off the ground and ascend when operating that close to the ground?
 
Murdoughnut said:
Tricky, but it certainly seems like it's within the envelope of time that rotor wash could have impacted him as he was commencing the go around. Does that wake bounce off the ground and ascend when operating that close to the ground?
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with a 407, there’s really not that much wake, as it’s a light helo, n the same class as an Astar or MD500. if we were talking a UH-1 Huey or heavier helo, there would be some wake for a Cessna 150 sized aircraft, but these lighter helos produce what would be felt as a jolt of a hop as you approached then, in terms of trailing wake. Hovering rotorwash is a different story, that’s more significant, but you have to be close to the hovering helo to encounter that. Possible he flew through some turbulence and overreacted to it, or such? Raise the flaps too early on a go around and stall? all will have to be looked into.

Am curious, if he was a full stop landing, why would he still be airborne nearly halfway down the runway? The helo proceeded past midfield , past the parking areas and ramp, before moving over to a hover taxi in the grass area. If the cessna was a full stop, i’d have thought he would’ve touched down near the approach end and even been exiting the runway well before. Unless a botched go around where he couldn’t climb. Approaching the helo where it’s moving off the runway as he flew without climbing towards midfield, he would’ve encountered the hovering downwash, but would’ve been encountered as a force pushing him laterally to the left. Yet he enters a a rapid roll to the right and hits the helo. Overreaction to the wind push? Over control while slow and stall? Will all have to be looked into.
 
helo is over the runway and precedes the airplane by 24 sec entering the frame at same point on runway, it appears they were attempting a climb entering the frame so perhaps they hit the rotorwash already and got slow trying to climb out of it while trying to keep the wings level fighting through the rotorwash
 
bp said:
helo is over the runway and precedes the airplane by 24 sec entering the frame at same point on runway, it appears they were attempting a climb entering the frame so perhaps they hit the rotorwash already and got slow trying to climb out of it while trying to keep the wings level fighting through the rotorwash
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Yeah, the helo makes its approach over and down the runway, before moving over into the infield sod just past midfield, past the parking ramp and appearing to slow to a hover taxi there as it exits the runway. The rotorwash wouldn’t be experienced by the Cessna until it was much closer to the helo, maybe 2 discs away. The wake behind the helo would probably still be there, but wouldn’t necessarily be significant, unless it startled the Cessna pilot and he overreacted to it. 24 seconds is some tight spacing indeed.
 
MikeD said:
Yeah, the helo makes its approach over and down the runway, before moving over into the infield sod just past midfield, past the parking ramp and appearing to slow to a hover taxi there as it exits the runway. The rotorwash wouldn’t be experienced by the Cessna until it was much closer to the helo, maybe 2 discs away. The wake behind the helo would probably still be there, but wouldn’t necessarily be significant, unless it startled the Cessna pilot and he overreacted to it. 24 seconds is some tight spacing indeed.
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steep approach to the numbers followed by hover taxi to the grass? maybe the cessna flew thru the descending wake
 
bp said:
steep approach to the numbers followed by hover taxi to the grass? maybe the cessna flew thru the descending wake
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definitely a possibility. much like the Bell UH-1 / 205 that was landing and the Cessna 140 that came in behind it close and hit its wake. wasn’t that long ago of an occurrence.
 
MikeD said:
definitely a possibility. much like the Bell UH-1 / 205 that was landing and the Cessna 140 that came in behind it close and hit its wake. wasn’t that long ago of an occurrence.
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The Cessna flight path is so strange. Cessna pilot was in radio contact with helo maybe he just wanted a closer look, that would explain him being so far down the runway .

Could he have been planning a go-around and got distracted by the helo and failed to add power and stalled?
 
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