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We talk an awful lot about airplanes on this channel. But airplanes are not the only classification of what you would call an aircraft. Helicopters also populate the skies and have their own history. Today we are going to explore the deadliest Helicopter Disaster to have occurred in Europe. It involves one of the more distinctive helicopters, an aircraft that is more known for its roles in the military, but this was a passenger helicopter. So what happened that led to such a disaster. We need to know more about that particular helicopter and have a closer look at its inner workings.
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fdb840f0b61342000861/2-1988_G-BWFC.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fdb9e5274a13140008f1/2-1988_G-BWFC_Append.pdf
https://www.hial.co.uk/sumburgh-airport
‘I pray for their souls’: Remembering Chinook helicopter disaster that claimed 45 lives in 1986
I survived the deadliest helicopter crash in European history
Chinook Remembered: Pilot who survived still feels “guilty” over helicopter crash
http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/standards/areas/drive_train.html
source
Helicopter people, let me know how I did with this one. Its something a bit different for the channel so always looking for some feedback!
Thanks.
If you found this video to be interesting, be sure to subscribe as there is a new video every Saturday. This video also went out to my Patrons on Patreon 48 hours before going out publicly. Consider joining here from £1 per month: https://www.patreon.com/DisasterBreakdown
Ouch. Those poor people. And a Chinook is too heavy for any kind of airbag floatation/crash landing system. I wonder if they've figured anything out for the Sikorsky.
FWIW, a Chinook in Orange County, California, may have saved hundreds of lives. OC started renting it in September 2020 just one month before Irvine, a city of 300K people, was threatened with fire right up to the city limits. You may have heard of this news story, when 80,000 people were ordered to evacuate! What you may NOT have noticed is that the news story mysteriously disappeared without any followup.
Like most California cities, Irvine is located on the 5-10 mile shelf of land between the mountains and the ocean, where the ocean keeps temperature almost the same year round and provides some moisture when climate change isn't forcing us into drought conditions. Unlike the rest of California, Irvine doesn't permit residential development on the desirable but flammable foothills covered in scrub and brush— the "interface" where most of the worst fire disasters occur. Instead, that land is reserved, with the landfill, reservoir, and hiking trails tucked in those areas, plus a several-lane "parkway" (large motorway) at the edge of the city to avoid traffic congestion and double as a firebreak. Even so, when the Santa Ana winds from the desert beyond the mountains start blowing towards the coast at 50-80mph, fires are nearly unstoppable. So the fires jumped the parkway and a few places and were threatening the outermost neighborhoods.
Enter the Chinook. It's got night vision and can fly in turbulent winds, unlike our smaller tanker helicopters and planes. I don't know if it made ALL the difference— I'm sure Irvine's fire mitigations measures helped, as the city just to the south lost some houses built up into the foothills— but we lost precisely two small, non-residential structures, and two firefighters suffered noncritical injuries, and that's it.
TL;DR: maybe Chinooks can have a second life as something other than commuter transports or weapons of war, and save lives in Australia, California, and other areas that are now starting to face problems with climate change driven fires as fire engines of the sky. They're already serving as such in a few places. You'd think we'd had it with war by now. (glares at Putin.)
Very good vid. Thank you
Holy t!
Thank you this video was very well explained.Very sad that a group of people looking forward to spending time with their families never did.
One of our Chinooks crashed in 1971 over Germany, I don't recall how many were killed but it was over 40, I worked in HHC 15th Aviation Group as a teletype operator, I had to type up and send all the casualty reports.
Why is this video not datestamped? Is it a youtube problem?
Is this where those ponies come from?
How you did with this one? Are you kidding me? Atrocious. Utterly appalling. That's how you did.
Anyone making videos of this sort who can't even get the aircraft type correct should just stop. Give up. Please. FFS it was a BV234 not a CH47 which, as eny fule no, is a strictly military type! The video is also infested with computer generated graphics of a CH47 in British Airways livery – how sloppy and shoddy can it get?
Cut to "Coastguard" helicopters, one an American UH60 variant, the other – get this – a bloody Russian Mil! Are you really too idle to bother finding footage of UK SAR (ie S61) assets?
You've made a suposedly factual video of a disaster in which Professional people died. Have the common decency and respect to get even the most fundamental facts straight or quit while you're so far behind.
And as for that simpering voice.
(ex BV234 pilot)
Two twin is four. One twin is two
I wanted to trade Crypto but got confused by the fluctuations in prices, any recommendations to a professional trader?
too long, get to the point (sorry)
Either it's an incredible coincidence Pushp Viad was also helicopter pilot for the Indian Air Force, and in 1971 was given the Vir Chakra, which is, "an Indian wartime military bravery award presented for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy on the battlefield and is third in precedence in wartime gallantry awards and comes after the Param Vir Chakra and Maha Vir Chakra." per Wikipedia. So basically, this man was lucky in helicopters.
Worked with Jim Cheyne. Was devastated to hear of his loss. RIP to him and the others.
Showing a CH-46 flying around on a couple occasions isn't probably a good idea here. These are Boeing 234s not Chinooks (pronounced like look or book or snooker not spoon or swoon or goon).
A British Airways Chinook? Interesting…
To be fair, this is not the deadliest helicopter disaster in Europe.
On 19 August 2002, a group of Chechen separatists armed with a man-portable air-defense system brought down a Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield, which resulted in the death of 127 Russian soldiers
maintenance of multi mission civilian helos operating on high sodium environment (like to & from off shore oil rigs) have additional maintenance intervals that include extensive checks for fatigue cracks sooner than later . . . the circular bearing of the MH-47A Chinook forward rotor with the fatigue crack shows like it hasn't been touched in a long time . . .
If you’re interested in Scottish helicopter disasters there’s also Bond Offshore Helicopters Flight 85N, it happened off the NE coast and we have a memorial for the crash in Aberdeen (my city).
If you have PlaneFinder or FlightRadar24, you should just watch Aberdeen international airport, we have a LOT of helicopters leaving/returning every day that go out to oil fields, it’s a very busy airport.
Danish? Very good english.
I like the engineering breakdown you showed, nice detail
My only experience in a helicopter was when I was visiting Las Vegas and took part in a tour of the Grand Canyon, which included a helicopter ride down into the canyon, followed by a ride on the river at the bottom. It was definitely a bit of a freaky experience, but ended up being an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime moment.
As for this disaster video, it's another winner (not that that's a surprise anymore). Keep up the amazing work!
Donald Trump owned a Chinook, a Sikorsky S-76, and a 757.
An excellent presentation Disaster Breakdown. I'm thinking additional details on the original development / testing and establishing the safelife of the ring gear, along with actions taken following the event would be a plus, but then I'm a one-off, so might be just my own interests.
There are two types of helicopter pilots. Those who have crashed and those who will crash.
The aircraft was not a CH-47 but a BV-234. BV is Boeing Vertol. Columbia Helicopters is the only company operating them. The aircraft in the computer generated video is a CH-47 and not an accurate depiction of the BV-234. The look very similar, just a few subtle differences. Wrong Coast Guard too.
5:12 – recount (i.e. tell) not recant (deny a previous statement)
Anyone who is a fan of helicopters, you NEED to buy Chickenhawk by I think, Robert Mason…..the most astonishing book of flying I've ever read…..then you get to the last page & it leaves one aghast….,
I wish I could be as good as this with my channel.
@2:07 “a 2 twin rotor”, that would make it 4 rotors
I flew in the Chinook many times during my military career, mainly during deployments to combat theaters, etc. What many people don't know is that hydraulic fluid drips like crazy on you when you are in the troops seats in the back, pretty much anywhere you sit so you are in for a miserable ride usually.
I was at school (in Edinburgh) when this happened. To be in sight of home and a near total loss of all on board was such a tragedy.
The surviving helicopters now operate in Oregon with Columbia Helicopters, although not as passenger carriers.
this is why I never fly on helicopters
Ah it's my favorite voice! Hope things are going well Chloe, and thank you so much for another upload- this one is totally new to me so thank you so much for sharing this story.
I'm not an engineer but designing a helicopter where both rotor blades have to sync exactly right to avoid a fatal disaster doesn't sound smart to me
A lad I worked with in the 80's worked on a north sea oil rig for a few years , worked at another place the bosses nephew was lost on Piper Alpha , my mates dad worked in the north sea and then went to a rig in the south China sea , hard work them jobs .
This was not the deathliest
Could you do the RAF Chinook accident in 1994 think you will find it very interesting!
Oil contamination ?, don't be a a twit, it's a gearbox full of oil – it HAS to be. As for salt water corrosion if water can get in oil can leak out. Again out of the question. This fault happened to severl Chinooks miles from the sea. It's just yet another case of incompetence in design. Good old Boeing – Made In The US of A. Did the jumped up 370 ever get a certificate?
Two twin rotors makes FOUR – sillyboy. I'll letyou off- this time.
We are not European.
KOBE 🏀
I’d love to see more of helicopters! Anything that flies – I found your space shuttle video really interesting as well, as I’m fascinated by anything to do with Astronomy. Great video – as yours always are. I love this channel!
1:23 "shared with the United Kingdom and Norway". Shetland is part of the United Kingdom, so surely "shared between the United Kingdom and Norway" would have been more correct?
Top shelf, as per usual. I'm loving the diversity, too. Planes, trains, helicopters… what's next? Airships, boats, space shuttles?
Very good video, well done. Cool to see the actual parts that failed in the Chinook gearbox, and the Diagrams of the parts. I've seen Chinooks in person Many times, and every time i see em, I'm still impressed, There so Big, and those Dual Rotors make for a Very Quick Helicopter, most people are surprised at how Fast they are. And the Lifting Capabilities are definitely there Strong Point. I enjoyed the Helicopter Footage, would Love to see some more.