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Safety - RC Helis are not toys > Serious accidents?
 
 
Hockeytown
Veteran
Location: Pontiac, Mi. U.S.A.

This is now twice in a matter of a couple days that there have been posts about serious accidents...............First, the rep in the UK losing a hand and several fingers...............now Alvin taking one in the shoulder!!!

Safety should definately be the first, middle and last thing on our minds. But, safety can only get you so far because mechanical failure is one of those things that can be/is completely unexpected, even with the best pre-flight checks.

There is alot of talent and experience on this Forum.....many people who have seen many things. I know that we all crash, some more than others, but all of us will/have and will keep crashing.....it is a part of this hobby.

I am more curious about accidents that involve more than just a heli and the ground.......a heli and a plank.......or a heli and a heli.

My question is......how frequently do serious accidents happen? What have you seen, and if you have the info........Why did it happen?

I don't want to be morbid, there are just some things that can be avoided by knowing what happened and why......and this topic is something I would more than anything like to avoid!!!

Thank you for your replies..........

Darin[color=red]
Hockeytown[/color]
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Darkstar
Senior Heliman
Location: USA

Serious Accidents

It seems that these type of accidents happen once per pilot (esp. if its fatal) since it's a hard lesson learned. Then we respect our machines much more.

I have a Falcon .46 that I was doing a low flyby once, and a cross wind altered it's course enough toward me for the rotor blades to hit my knuckle and knock my radio out of my hands. Fortunately a tree stopped it from doing further damage.

I think that we become overly confident and fly in too close.

Of course there are those who never learn and are a candidate for the Darwin award.

Tim.
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
deckerv
Veteran
Location: Wellsville, NY

a bit off topic, but about safety and accident prevention possibly.

At our flying field... we built barriers that the pilots stand behind.. Should a plank come in and veer towards the pilots, it stops the plane. All the pilot has to do is duck down and he/she's covered.. at least from the front and sides. It's made out of PVC pipe (3" pipe) and nylon heavy duty fencing material. It, last year, stopped a 1/3rd scale plane (not mine) from hitting another pilot on landing.. well worth the money. If it can stop a 90+ " plank.. then it should hold up well to a heli.. maybe.. It's kinda shaped like a U.. and it's about 4' high. PVC posts go into the ground in 4 places, about a foot deep, so it stays put on impact. It cost our club about $200 for 5 stations, but then again how do you put a price tag on someone's life?? That 24" carbon prop could have hacked someone to shreads as fast as that was moving.
03-18-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
WhiteRussian
Senior Heliman
Location: New Castle, DE

I have a saying that I always keep in mind:

"Think you have safety under control? Think again!"

It works for me.

Best,
03-18-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
Chris Bergen
Key Veteran
Location: location

Can someone direct me to the post about the rep in Uk losing fingers and hand.

I just got the word today that our Distributor in England, John Major was the one who got hurt.

Chris Bergen
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
ed vega
Key Veteran
Location: nyc, queens

I have seen a few , not a pleasant subject .. but safety comes first , is the lesson learned too late at times .. things happen on the field ..
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
JCadwell
Key Veteran
Location: Richland WA/ Morro Bay, CA

Search for "fingers", and it is the post in the main discussion area called "safety first: a reminder for all of us"

Thanks, John Cadwell
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
swashead
Heliman
Location: Austin, TX

Here it is:

http://www.runryder.com/showtopic.h...44&topicid=6274
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
swashead
Heliman
Location: Austin, TX

I was talking to a guy in my LHS the other day who what a deep gash right between the eyes. He apparently had tried to JBWeld a broken blade back together. When he spun it up it broke loose and as Murphy Law is always in force, it came at him and hit him between the eyes. He's lucky it didn't go in his head like a knife and kill him.
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
SemiArticulate
Veteran
Location: On Location

I always wear a pair of sunglasses that are rated as safety glasses and wear jeans when I fly. The jeans won't protect much against getting hit but when you walk up on it to slow the blades and may get too close, hopefully you will notice the jeans getting hit before the skin does. Most important, I keep my helis in flying shape and replace not 'repair' any parts that need it.

BTW, what type of heli was it? Gasser, industrial, sport?
03-18-2002 Over year old.
 
 
psawya
Key Veteran
Location: Pyongtaek, Korea

South Korea Incident

I don't have all the details but, A guy here in South Korea hit a family with his 90 powered heli this weekend. The place he was flying has a wide field, about 300 feet or so, then there is a walking path on the other side. Folks have been flying there for years, anyway, he got disoriented and lost control, the heli flew straight at a family, a man, his wife, and I believe it was only one child. The helicopter hit the kid, he was injured very badly, I do not know exactly the extent. He held his hand/arms up to protect himself and the heli hit his arms. Sorry I don't have more info than this.

Everyone thinks it always happens to "The Other Guy",
To everyone else you are "The Other Guy".
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Ron Cosby
Senior Heliman
Location: Shreveport, Louisiana

Three weeks ago one of the guys here was going to fly his Shuttle. Maxx and I helped him get it going, although this person is a very capable pilot. He started it into a hover and it just took off foward, he corrected, it came back suddenly and flew past his head at a high rate of speed and couldn't have missed him more than 3 or 4 feet. I was sitting about 10 feet from him when it happened and by the time I was in the running posture, the machinre was past me and headed for a tree.
This was the first time I was really "scary" close to a runaway heli, albeit a 30 size, it really got my attention and soiled my Fruit of the Looms.
We all huddled up after the accident and swore to each other that NEVER AGAIN WOULD WE FLY THESE MACHINES CLOSE IN, period!
I am sorry to say it took something really scaring the s**t out of me to learn that you must stay well clear of these things.
I am truly saddened to hear of these accidents, but we must all learn from them.
It might be something of value if there were a "Safety/Accident" topic in this forum. If so, people might share near misses, contacts and other things to help keep safety in the forefront.
Food for thought.
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Mike99
Veteran
Location: Canal Winchester, OH

In two and a half years at my current club we have only had one serious accident and that was a tip of a finger lost to a wood prop. After many partial starts the engined fired and the guy went to remove the glow starter and "whack"... lesson learned. I saw him for the first time last month after a year and a half. With regards to helis there have been no accidents but we very rarely fly in close. I could take off at the gate (pvc pipe with snow fence) but I always opt to place the heli in the middle of the runway about fifty feet out. It increases your odds if a blade lets go or something.

Mike99
03-19-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
SemiArticulate
Veteran
Location: On Location

It seems like accidents with airplanes happen all the time. At least two people got wacked pretty hard by props last year at our field. I feel much safer starting my helis than my plane. When such an accident happens with a heli anywhere, its like the shot heard round the world. Thats not exactly a bad thing since we all want to know the full story of every accident in case a safety issue with helis comes up at a club meeting. But I hear horror stories about other clubs that would certainly use a cut on the shoulder (or even the potential) as a reason to ban helis while at the same time they may of had several get their hands caught in a prop. A report such as a loss of a hand or certainly a death has the potential to create real problems. That should be the understatement of the year. I think it might not be a bad idea to strongly promote PCM w/failsafe to idle. I agree with those who see the benefits of PPM but if something goes wrong then the heli should die. That would seem to me to allow a heli to be safer than any plane. A plane wants to fly, a heli doesn't. So if given the excuse, the heli will just fall out of the sky. If you are following any AMA rules at all, then the heli shouldn't be able to hit anyone. Damage would be reduced if it did manage to hit anyone. The potential is still there and you'd be smart to never assume the sport is safe. Has anyone ever been injured by a heli that was set to go to an engine idle failsafe (other than maybe unsafe flying)? It would not surprise me but I bet the numbers and severity are much smaller.
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
gyroman
Senior Heliman
Location: Pasadena, CA

At the Sepulveda Basin (balboa park) where we fly there is this guy with this pink shuttle that is like almost as old as i am . He flys with a four channel screwdriver radio. All the guys at the basin remeber this one.

He takes off one day with the pink shuttle and somehow losses control in a head high hover. Interference or something of the sort The helicopter starts going out of control slowly deliberatley. The guy lets go of his radio and starts for the machine. He ran over to grab the skids. smart . All of the sudden the heli just screamed and started moving and the blades hitting himm all over the face, arms, and back. One of our local chumps runs to his car to get a first aid kit. He returns and sees the guy picking up the pieces of his helicopter. He comes back to the pits bleeding and sets the helicopter down carefully on the table as if though it was a pro2k. He has a new nickname, Ginsu.

Steve's rule: Fly at least fifteen feet infront of you, and always have something to hide behind.

Safe Flying to all
03-19-2002 Over year old.
HOMEPAGE  
 
 
kevlar11
Senior Heliman
Location: Edmonton

Safe flying

Hi
The one thing I see is the distance between you and your heli increase
after a lockout or mech. failure. Twice I've almost been hit, one guy trying to save his 60 after a clutch failed (had the nerve to tell me he couldn't hear his engine because of my heli) missed my head by 6ft or so I'm told!! I like the PVC pipe plan you could always leave one lose to beat the thing out of the air
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Taipan
Key Veteran
Location: Sydney, Australia

This is my greatest fear in this hobby - rotor blades. On a 60 size heli, each blade exerts about 700lb on its bolt. See this article regarding this. It's in metric units though. Based on the same data, the tip speed is approximately 540kmh or 335mph. All of this is for a head speed of 1,800rpm, i.e. in idle-up & flying around. Hovering is no less dangerous.

I've head of a beginner starting up his heli in his backyard to burn off the remaining fuel in the engine. He didn't use his radio & didn't realise the throttle was wide open. It took off & smashed into a tree, chopping off a 2 inch branch! Your arm is weaker than this!

On my 2nd ever flight, I opened up the throttle too much & my heli flew backwards & my instructor reacted too late to stop it. Bent the boom & was just 5ft away when it passed, don't want to think what could've happened had I been in the way.

Back to blades, I hate hovering them at eye level. It is like pointing a gun at your head. Same goes for plank props, stay out of the tip arc. I get spooked when people hover their helis really close to them. I did that, no more, it's not worth the risk.

The one field has a row of half-buried tyres for stopping wayward planks. Totally useless for helis. My local field has a fenced off area for pilots, however it is some distance off the flight line. Therefore the heli pilots don't stand in it & on the flight line instead. Hmm.
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Trainwreck
Heliman
Location: Lee's Summit, Missouri

Every hobby has risks...

... and R/C is no exception. We had one VERY serious injury at our club last year when a guy started up a big bipe with throttle servo reversed by accident. "Idle" turned out to be full throttle and it lunged at him instantly. He turned his face and reached out for the top wing with with both hands. Unfortunately the prop was 18" wide and his grasp was about 16" wide resulting in 250+ stitches in both forearms.

But.... having said that, I have an acquaintance who was left paralyzed by a scuba diving accident and another who was killed piloting a real small plane. I have several friends who have lost one or more fingers in home woodshop accidents and several who have been injured while working on cars as a hobby. Every day people get beaned with golf balls or struck by lightning on the fairway. I've even had several friends injured in boating and jet ski accidents. And I darned sure feel a lot safer at the flying field than several friends who race Motocross, go carts, etc. Risk is a part of hobbies.

Having said all that... I agree that safety must be first and foremost at field whether it's a flatwing or a rotary wing. Just saw a veteran pilot at the field the other day with a souped-up Raptor. Something shorted somewhere and actually MELTED the PCM receiver. He suddenly began waving his arms frantically that he had lost all control. We all started looking for cover but the chopper began rotating wildly and climbing before plunging into the woods 1/4 mile away and beating itself to death. It could have been worse, like last fall when a large 1/4 scale gasser flatwing knifed out of control through the flightline and through the pits before EXPLODING on a concrete sidewalk behind the pilot line as we all stood frozen in disbelief. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone because at 18 lbs swinging a 20" prop at 7000 RPM and 80 mph it would have been deadly.

I just think we all have to work constantly at the safety aspects making good choices and using our heads. If we'll all do that we can reduce the risks to an acceptable level... at least acceptable to me.
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Hockeytown
Veteran
Location: Pontiac, Mi. U.S.A.

This does help!

I know that talking about unfortunate events doesn't make them go away or make them any less unfortunate, but it does help get the word out. Certainly, in this Forum, talking about accidents doesn't sensationalize them, leave that to the media!!

Many of you who have been witness to accidents have vowed to avoid that happening ever again. By spreading the word on accidents, those of us who haven't seen or been a part of any accidents can try to avoid them by at least knowing that they did happen, and why.

I, for one, do not want to post a story about anything serious going wrong. When I check the tracking, it usually is in an eye level hover...........and not a second goes by when I am not thinking about the heli throwing a blade, and me taking one right between the eyes.

So, whether it is mechanical failure.......or brain failure, the word needs to be out about accidents so that the rest of us don't need to experience them to learn by them!!

Happy and Safe Flying

Darin[color=red]
Hockeytown[/color]
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
Zach Sparks
Veteran
Location: Norton Shores, MI

..
03-19-2002 Over year old.
 
 
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