At a local military base next to my work, on a very hot summer day, a load master didn’t compensate for the hot thin air. The helicopter pilot got the rotors up to speed, and “jumped” up and forward before he realized he didn’t have enough lift. Helicopters can store a huge amount of energy in the rotors, and use it to do things the engines can’t sustain. He put the stick straight up to stay off the ground, but he didn’t have enough to pull back and stop the forward motion, or enough to gain any altitude. He wound up flying ten feet over parking lots and playgrounds for a half mile before finally being able to skid in to a safe landing in a baseball field.
Dale Dye, a decorated retired Marine, used to have a regular show o KFI L.A. He hated helicopters with a passion.
He often repeated the old adage that “helicopters don’t fly, they just beat the air into submission.”
What happened to that pilot is an example of the accuracy of that statement.
:)
A pilot didn't complete his weight and balance comps. Then he compounded the mistake with a no-hover takeoff. Unless he was departing from a rooftop LZ he should have been able to get the helo down in its own length.