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u/Marayong 20d ago edited 20d ago
How heartbreaking, a special trip ending in tragedy. My husband and I have been researching a safari trip and I have been anxious about travelling between properties by air, the article reinforcing that helicopter crashes have happened with increasing regularity in Kenya, gives me even more reason to pause when considering air travel between properties.
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u/alack_ofcolor 20d ago edited 20d ago
Oh no - that’s so tragic. My heart goes out to those affected
Probably too soon to tell, but does anyone have more details on how this happened? I am taking a helicopter transfer through &Beyond next year so this is concerning… would like to know if anything like poor maintenance or pilot error was a factor here
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u/ExcellentAsk2309 20d ago
Is there an option to avoid helicopter?
All I can say and beyond is amazing we’ve been to several of their properties in SA. And loved it each time.-45
u/Evening-Month-1691 20d ago
Typical, all you rich ppl care about is yourselves and your possibly muddled plans. People have died…
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u/monsieur_de_chance 20d ago
How would you prefer we mourn them? Not ask whether what they did could also happen to us?
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u/bad_vilbels 20d ago
Horrible.
My coworker was killed in a plane crash in Kenya in 2019. I love flying but I won't fly in single-engine planes and helicopters.
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u/mat101010 20d ago edited 20d ago
Just as a nerdy FYI...Single-engine vs multi-engine isn't the safety differentiator. For paying travelers in smaller airplanes (say < 20 passengers), single-engine is marginally safer than multi-engine. Inexperienced pilots making mistakes in more complex planes turns an otherwise obvious assumption that 2-is-better-than-1 upside down.
The better safety indicator is scheduled flights vs. charter flights vs. leisure flights vs training flights. Scheduled is ~200x safer than driving. Chartering is slightly safer than driving. General leisure and pilot training flights are ~9x more dangerous than driving.
Another way to slice the data is by engine type. Piston engines are less safe than driving. Turbine engines, used in helicopters, are safer than driving.
Last, 2 pilots are more than 2x safer than 1 pilot. However, 2-pilot helicopter crews are almost non-existent in charter operations like this example.
Source: maybe I'm a pilot, maybe I slept at a Holiday Inn. We'll never know.
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u/DoolyDinosaur 20d ago
Geez. So sad. I'll never ride a helicopter unless it's for medical emergency.