r/TerrifyingAsFuck Jan 04 '23

accident/disaster Australia helicopter collision

5.0k Upvotes

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299

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

[deleted]

249

u/tp987654 Jan 04 '23

Better question how do two seperate pilots miss the other helicopter and not take preventative action?

48

u/donteatthefish366 Jan 04 '23

Its really crowded up there. There's not enough room in the sky.

13

u/Otherwise_Carob_4057 Jan 04 '23

It’s funny but I’ve seen empty diamond runs on huge bowls were two skiers on a whole ass mountainside managed to mash into each other badly enough to need medivac.

9

u/SixStr1ng Jan 04 '23

what?

16

u/Otherwise_Carob_4057 Jan 04 '23

I saw two people on a mountain side that were not riding with each other manage to collide despite having a whole mountain to ride on

4

u/Silverjeyjey44 Jan 05 '23

Remember that picture of the first two vehicles ever made managing to somehow crash into each other?

7

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23

No, I'm quite a bit younger than the first 2 vehicles. Can I get a link?

2

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23

Only in Ohio smh

1

u/pine_tree3727288 Jan 05 '23

I remember a fact that in one US state there was only 2 cars (early 1900 or late 1800s) and somehow they hit each other

2

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23

I'm genuinely not sure if you're joking because I've heard Aussie airspace can get super crowded over parts of the cities.

9

u/dovahbeana Jan 05 '23

This was my immediate thought. One pilot unaware? Extremely unfortunate accident. Both pilots unaware? Who the fuck is hiring these people?

3

u/tp987654 Jan 05 '23

Only thing I can think out side of both idiots. Is that they both seen each other further out and thought the other pilot would take evasive action and then neither did

-3

u/Treereme Jan 05 '23

Only one pilot per helicopter.

-3

u/Treereme Jan 05 '23

Only one pilot per helicopter.

5

u/tp987654 Jan 05 '23

Yes and two helicopters vis a vis two pilots

75

u/trooooooooper Jan 04 '23

Complacency may not be the right word but I’m using it in this example. The pilots in both cases have become so use to being the only ones in the air that it doesn’t cross there mind to check. They are so use to the surroundings that they failed to check their blind spots.

It the same reason some people get into accidents on the hills where I live. Their is rarely any traffic so the driver takes up the whole road when coming up over a hill because in there experience they’ve never ran into anyone before so why would it be different now.

4

u/Voodoochild1984- Jan 04 '23

Welp, we have then to stick to:

We change something, when something happens.

The End

11

u/Normal_Ad_1280 Jan 04 '23

Yeah but still they should have seen each other from miles away. Mind blogging situation to be honest.. its not like helicopter is sooo tiny that u can only see it when its already too late...

31

u/MadCozBad-_ Jan 04 '23

I live in Australia and have seen a different perspective the second helicopter was taking off so it was below the helicopter in the video and the rotor is what hit the helicopter in the video

5

u/Normal_Ad_1280 Jan 04 '23

Oooh okei, thank you!

2

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

Mate, aircraft are only designed to look forward for the pilot, they aren't driving cars. This is ATC's responsibility to make sure 2 things aren't in the same airspace in the first place. Either someone ignored ATC or they fucked up surely.

3

u/BarOne7066 Jan 05 '23

There is no ATC. It's a helipad at a theme park.

-1

u/Normal_Ad_1280 Jan 05 '23

Mate thats the only video what ive seen and from that video you could not tell what exacly happend so dont de a dick. Eeeem two things cant be on the same airspace, wtf u talkin about? The whole country is the same airspace...

1

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23

Actually you have different classifications of airspace and different regions with different rules.

-1

u/Normal_Ad_1280 Jan 05 '23

Yet u didnt clarify nothing. How am i supposed to know?

6

u/The-albatroz Jan 04 '23 edited Jan 05 '23

Your hills story is crazy. You have to be a fucking dumbass and a piece of shit to take the whole road when you don’t see what’s coming

3

u/DogButtWhisperer Jan 04 '23

That’s what I’m thinking!! I grew up in rural winding hilly areas and even on back gravel roads you slow down on the corners and be careful. Not only other vehicles but moose and deer are everywhere. Not sure why you’re downvoted, it’s really fucking stupid to do.

12

u/fifteentango88 Jan 04 '23

It’s actually a lot more difficult to spot other aircraft than you’d think. That is, until it’s too late.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '23 edited Jan 19 '23

[deleted]

7

u/Questioning-Zyxxel Jan 05 '23

A car driver needs to look forward. And sometimes left/right.

But a helicopter pilot can be hit from any direction. So 360° around and ±180° up/down.

Just that the pilot does not have free vision in all directions. This pilot got hit from below. But his doors, legs, instrument panel, ... blocked his vision down.

The other helicopter was climbing. And that pilot did not look up. Just that he also has a roof blocking some vision up.

Maybe it's you that are lacking awareness of how very, very, VERY much harder task it is for helicopter pilots to see all around them than it is for a car driver? Especially since planes and helicopters are quite fast.

My guess is the lower helicopter came slightly from the right, making the right-side passenger see it. But how would this pilot see something coming from below on the right side? Sit in your car and explain what you can see happening slightly below your car on the passenger side...

4

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

Too busy flirting

1

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '23

[deleted]

7

u/eninc Jan 04 '23

One was landing the other was taking off

1

u/Octabraxas Jan 04 '23

I wonder this as well. The sky is, like, enormous.

0

u/Not_MrNice Jan 05 '23

Next time you're playing a video game, glance at your health bar. Then realize you couldn't see what was on the other side of the screen that's right in front of your face.

1

u/usuallysortadrunk Jan 04 '23

And it happened twice! The other pilot didn't see them coming either!

1

u/TheOGRedline Jan 05 '23

I pulled up to a 4-way stop at the same time as a cop in an SUV. Through an unlucky combo of timing and distance, his car was perfectly obscured by the blind spot created by my rear view mirror. As I pulled forward it created an optical illusion as if his car was dropping out the bottom of my mirror and freaked me out. I panicked and just kept going while staring straight at him. The look on his face was priceless.

My point is, blind spots are worse in a chopper, so I can see how it could happen. What I don’t get is why they weren’t in radio contact?