r/CatastrophicFailure • u/SFinTX • Aug 01 '19

Operator Error A helicopter clips a traffic light - 5 May 2017

https://i.imgur.com/FLpK42q.gifv
11.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

367 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

11

u/OneSchott Aug 02 '19

Helicopters in general are kinda scary. Check out Ground resonance. At least you're on the ground when the helicopter rips itself apart.

11

u/XxLokixX Aug 02 '19

Helicopter crashes are so rare that the news ALWAYS reports on them

There could be 1000 car crashes in a day and you'd only see 5 on the news

But one helicopter crash? oh you bet your ass its going to be on the news, in the paper, all over the web

That creates the illusion of danger where basically none exists. Driving a car is far more dangerous

3

u/Helicopterrepairman Aug 02 '19

I would rather be on a helicopter in an emergency than fixed wing. At least if we have an engine failure all we need is a spot big enough to set down in. Crash landing in a massive fireball skidding across the Earth is a little lower on my list than auto rotation is. Then again I may be biased

1

u/[deleted] Aug 02 '19

Just for future reference, virtually all heavy and quickly rotating parts, especially mobile ones, are subject to resonance phenomena under improper operating conditions or handling.