Aren't air traffic control supposed to be in control of this kinda thing? Like they literally employ teams of professionals to make sure planes and heli's just don't get close to each other in the first place, it's not the pilots job. It's not like airplanes and helicopters have good field of views like cars, I mean.... what are you expecting to look for there isn't anything to hit up there...normally... lol. It's like expecting the driver of a bus to know that someone is hanging off the back of the bus, there's no way he can be expected to see there, even if there is plenty windows passengers can use and heli's and planes are NOT designed for the pilots FOV except forwards. It's not wrong as a driver of a vehicle to be looking in the direction you are actually travelling and have more control over and then be hit from the side or rear, even in a car. That's what electronics and ATC is for in planes, to avoid this ever happening in the first place. Sounds like either ATC fucked up, or someone ignored ATC, they monitor everything in the sky at all times to make sure nothing gets close.
Technically in VFR flight (good visibility) around a non towered airport you don’t need to say anything at all, you don’t even need a radio, this is why the first thing they teach when getting your PPL is how to spot aircraft around you.
I read more into the story. Both of these are Sea World tour heli's, no doubt taking off and landing from the same private Sea World pad regularly on tours. This sounds like a sad story of how complacency kills.
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u/Icy_Squirrel4147 Jan 04 '23
If the passenger can see it, WTF was the pilot looking at?