Pilot who wrecked Black Hawk admits he was showing off

Associated Press ^ | May. 05, 2005 | JAYMES SONG

[Reagan79]

I don't see how one could be so negligent when they have lives under their control, even with the peer pressure. It's going to be tougher for the pilot to deal with the guilt than any military/prison penalties.

Prayers for him,

[2banana]

An earlier Army investigative report described the incident: Marines on board the helicopter twice told the pilot, "Fly hard." The first time he refused, but the second time the response from the cockpit came back: "You asked for it." The pilot then radioed, "Taking room to maneuver."

"Hey, watch this!" - Has killed more soldiers than enemy bullets...

[Dubya]

It's going to be tougher for the pilot to deal with the guilt than any military/prison penalties.

The families will have a little bit of a hard time dealing with this i bet.

[monday]

Kinda sounds like it was the crew that was negligent. There shouldn't be anything left unsecured in the cabin. If he had had to do that maneuver during combat the outcome would have been the same but no one would have blamed the pilot. It is the crews responsibility to secure the cabin.

[eastforker]

This is coming from AP and I personaly think it is BS. Pilots train for combat and the wheel chock being unsecured is the real cause here. I am not a pilot thats for sure but in my army days of riding choppers I was amazed at some of the "stunts" these pilots could do. I would love to read the true transcript as to weather or not the pilot actually stated he was showing off.

[Tennessee_Bob]

It is the crews responsibility to secure the cabin.

And the pilot's responsiblity to ensure that it's done correctly.

[monday]

""Hey, watch this!" - Has killed more soldiers than enemy bullets..."

I doubt that. Accidents are almost never a case of soldiers showing off. It happens, but don't make it a bigger problem than it is.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

deliver troops quickly to the battlefield

Not so fast!

[wideawake]

If he had had to do that maneuver during combat the outcome would have been the same but no one would have blamed the pilot.

Good point. A wheel chock shouldn't be hitting an instrument panel in an evasive scenario.

[Pukin Dog]

Sorry, but that is nonsense.

The huge majority of military flying accidents are because of this very same attitude. Showing off is something that is hard to avoid among the type of individuals who qualify to fly these aircraft.

I could tell you of many stories where pilots have lost their lives, or millions of dollars worth of tax-payer funded weaponry, just because they wanted to have, or give someone else a thrill.

It is just part of the game.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Accidents are almost never a case of soldiers showing off.

Tell that to the B-52 crew that died in the pre-show practice. Their pilot had a nasty reputation for showing off, had been reprimanded for it, but never punished for it. Then he winged the jet over, and dropped it into a power substation, killing everyone on board.

[Pukin Dog]

Accidents are almost never a case of soldiers showing off.

Sorry, but that is wrong. Outside of mechanical failure, almost all military flying accidents are due a failure to follow procedure, which is most cases does come down to showing off. It happens more than the military would like you to know.

[Publius6961]

"Hey, watch this!" - Has killed more soldiers than enemy bullets...

Now that might be a gross hyperbole, but there is a grain of truth there.

Just in the last few days I saw another helicopter landing on a ship at sea (hard to tell what kind of a ship, since only the landing area shows) coming in way too fast.

The copter teetered on the edge of the deck and somersaulted backwards into the sea. No way to tell how many were aboard or when and where it happened.

[Pukin Dog]

I was about to use that example, along with a couple of Tomcat incidents.

[Pelican 5]

It is tough. But at least it wasn't a case of "Hold muh beer" which has caused a lot of Darwinian moments.

I believe the unsecured equipment is the real culprit and not the pilot.

[Fury]

The good thing is that he will never pilot a helicopter again in the U.S. Military.

[eastforker]

But Dog, isn't that also a part of training sometimes pushing it to the limits? Had the wheel chock been secured the accident would not have happened correct? One question is if the pilot was proficient to perform this maneuver and if it was a recognized tactical maneuver.

[real saxophonist]

A few years ago at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, a couple of Blackhawk pilots took their wives for an unauthorised ride; They ended up crashing and killing at least one person. I'll look up the story...

[BeAllYouCanBe]

"Outside of mechanical failure, almost all military flying accidents are due a failure to follow procedure,"

I was a Vietnam era Crew Chief with 3,500 flying hours.

"Hot-Dog" pilots are a major problem then and now. I think that the personality type that is drawn to being a pilot is the type that is reckless given the opportunity. But since the birth of aviation the reckless are the ones who become pilots.

A quote from a pilot, "Flying is hours of boredom punctuated by seconds of terror." So to spice up the boredom pilots do stupid stuff.