landing a helicopter at red lake falls!!!

[Stinger]

Back in the 70s or 80s there was a UND student who was working on his pilot ratings. He had a family reunion coming up, so he asked the higher-ups if he could do a cross-country flight to go visit. When they asked him where the aiport was, he pointed to a spot on the sectional that had a little grass strip. He was told that UND didn't have any problems with him visiting family as long as he landed at the airport about 30 miles away since the grass strip had no services of any kind.

Well, this student decided that he'd use the grass strip anyway that was located right next to where his family was. He thought that no one would know he landed there, so what was the problem? But it had rained the last couple days so the grass was wet and spongy. He landed short of the runway a ways, sank the wheels in, and flipped the plane right onto it's top.

Totally legal to land at a grass strip in a plane, but just don't screw up. UND probably gives this story as an example to students who want to fly to airports that aren't approved for UND operations. UND just doesn't want students to get hurt and screw themselves over.

 

[TXaviator]

nevermind.

this isnt about a student pilot at a grass strip in a fixed wing. its about a commercial pilot, in a helicopter.


ARGGGG:banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[SteveC]

nevermind.

this isnt about a student pilot at a grass strip in a fixed wing. its about a commercial pilot, in a helicopter.

...who got caught breaking a rule set by the people that own the aircraft. Did I get the story right?

 

[av8or91]

Back in the 70s or 80s there was a UND student who was working on his pilot ratings. He had a family reunion coming up, so he asked the higher-ups if he could do a cross-country flight to go visit. When they asked him where the aiport was, he pointed to a spot on the sectional that had a little grass strip. He was told that UND didn't have any problems with him visiting family as long as he landed at the airport about 30 miles away since the grass strip had no services of any kind.

Well, this student decided that he'd use the grass strip anyway that was located right next to where his family was. He thought that no one would know he landed there, so what was the problem? But it had rained the last couple days so the grass was wet and spongy. He landed short of the runway a ways, sank the wheels in, and flipped the plane right onto it's top.

Sounds like a story I heard a year ago from a man named Dana Siewert.
I see what your saying with this story but its almost totally different. Same concept but fixed and rotary wing landings are probably completely different from what I can see.

Im guessing this was in the schweitzer?

 

[Stinger]

Sounds like a story I heard a year ago from a man named Dana Siewert.
I see what your saying with this story but its almost totally different. Same concept but fixed and rotary wing landings are probably completely different from what I can see.

Im guessing this was in the schweitzer?

Bingo, Dana was the guy. Now it is totally different because I didn't know the helicopter guy was doing commercial.

I can still see why UND has a policy for this though.

 

[juxtapilot]

The policy is for all the idiot aviation nerds... like the tattle tail in the OP's story. The rest of the pilots at UND have to suffer because of this.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

And the UND chapter of "poster children for hazardous attitudes" is heard from again....

I forsee a few of you getting canned from future jobs for "sticking it to the man" by not following company procedures.

 

[TXaviator]

And the UND chapter of "poster children for hazardous attitudes" is heard from again....

I forsee a few of you getting canned from future jobs for "sticking it to the man" by not following company procedures.

LOL a friend and I actually had a bet going about how long it would take for someone to mention "hazardous attitudes"..... glad you settled that one for us.

 

[TXaviator]

...who got caught breaking a rule set by the people that own the aircraft. Did I get the story right?

you got it! :-D

 

[BigRedFlyer]

"There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician, the other is an artist in love with flight." — E Jeppesen

You can definitely tell who's who around UND...that's for sure...
The sad thing is, it seems UND is training more and more glorified technicians, and very few aviators. Now I'm not saying you need to break the rules to be an aviator, but I just feel more and more like the comment further up, "Why do we even fly" just because some idiot who had no business behind a yoke screwed things up for the rest of us. I guess my only point is that there needs to be a little fun and love of flying mixed in with the rules and regs.

BRF

PS - Yea, I hope I never find out who the idiot who called him in was, I've had too many toolboxes like that in my classes...they need a quick kick in tail. :banghead:

 

[Micaoct]

"There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician, the other is an artist in love with flight." — E Jeppesen

You can definitely tell who's who around UND...that's for sure...
The sad thing is, it seems UND is training more and more glorified technicians, and very few aviators. Now I'm not saying you need to break the rules to be an aviator, but I just feel more and more like the comment further up, "Why do we even fly" just because some idiot who had no business behind a yoke screwed things up for the rest of us. I guess my only point is that there needs to be a little fun and love of flying mixed in with the rules and regs.

BRF

PS - Yea, I hope I never find out who the idiot who called him in was, I've had too many toolboxes like that in my classes...they need a quick kick in tail. :banghead:

:yeahthat: Well said!

 

[category]

Sorry, I was concerned about your friends safety

 

[av8or91]

Sorry, I was concerned about your friends safety

Delete sarcasm tag....it was you!

 

[Bignellyxx]

Just going to throw this out there. How do we know that it was a UND Aviation student who ratted this guy out. You wouldn't think that a person who is going to rat people out would be hanging out at Red Lake Falls. If thats the case people need to keep Red Lake Falls a secret and never speak about it in or around the airport/aviation buildings. These people should not enjoy the debauchery that is RLF's.

 

[TXaviator]

Just going to throw this out there. How do we know that it was a UND Aviation student who ratted this guy out. You wouldn't think that a person who is going to rat people out would be hanging out at Red Lake Falls. If thats the case people need to keep Red Lake Falls a secret and never speak about it in or around the airport/aviation buildings. These people should not enjoy the debauchery that is RLF's.

because the goober who ratted THEN HAD THE BALLS to come up to my buddy (the pilot) and tell him he ratted him out spouting some typical UND dork nonsense about BLAH BLAH ITS MY JOB AS A STUDENT TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE etc etc

typical. :banghead:

 

[juxtapilot]

Sorry, I was concerned about your friends safety

hahaha!

 

[Screaming_Emu]

LOL a friend and I actually had a bet going about how long it would take for someone to mention "hazardous attitudes"..... glad you settled that one for us.

Man...egg on my face! I'm so embarrassed for playing the role of responsible adult.

 

[Ian_J]

Did everyone just ignore this?

...who got caught breaking a rule set by the people that own the aircraft. Did I get the story right?

In the Army there was this senior OH-58 (Bell 206) pilot who liked to bend some Army rules. He believed helicopters were meant to fly fast and low. He was a warrant officer, and his commander, a captain, had caught wind of this pilot's hazardous attitudes through the grapevine.

The Captain decided to go on a flight with this pilot and see for himself. The result was an OH-58 and 2 Army pilots at the bottom of a lake. Witnesses reported the OH-58 flying at high speed inches from the lake's surface before a skid caught the water.

It seems even the Captain was reluctant to "snitch" while in the cockpit. Perhaps the warrant officer felt too many people were technicians, and not true aviators. Who knows, they're both dead.

Sure, all this UND kid did was land in a field, right? Tell you what - you land an Army helicopter at an unapproved site and it's your wings. Work for a civilian operator and break their FOM and it's your job. Breaking "little" and "unimportant" rules might not seem like a big deal, but the aviator who does is embarking on an accident chain that could be years in the making. In my story above I wonder when that OH-58 pilot started breaking "little" rules?

I'm not saying the "snitch" in the original story did the exact right thing. Perhaps a better course of action would have been to simply tell the pilot he broke the rules rather than telling the school. However, from the description of the event in the original post it doesn't sound like the pilot would have been very receptive.

 

[Blip16]

further up, "Why do we even fly" just because some idiot who had no business behind a yoke screwed things up for the rest of us. I guess my only point is that there needs to be a little fun and love of flying mixed in with the rules and regs.

that isn't the point. you can have fun while learning to fly, albeit with all the policies sometimes that is tough. The helo guys land in fields, etc all the time, BUT they get it approved before they go. apparently one of the instructors landed at Kings Walk, but it was approved before he left GFK.

the point is, the student said he was going to A, but went to B, and got caught red handed. If he had just asked for permission, it may have been approved. All this because he owns the bus company and the driver lost the keys or something like that?

 

[TXaviator]

All this because he owns the bus company and the driver lost the keys or something like that?

lol now i think the story is expanding as it gets retold...either way, he's gotten a firm butt-chewing already, review board, etc etc