I Will Never Fly Through Wires

I WILL NEVER FLY THROUGH WIRES


There must be millions of articles written on this subject so my intension is not to add another one, but rather to share a recent experience I had. Let me start off by saying that for the last twenty years of my flying career I am the first one to say that flying through wires is inexcusable. “It will never happen to me” has always been my attitude. Although I did not fly through wires it was damn close and the worst part is I saw the power lines well in advance.

We were two heavy helicopters in formation that were preparing for landing in a confined area surrounded by obstacles from all directions. Three sides of the confined area were obstructed by very high trees and buildings and the fourth was obstructed by a power line. The lead helicopter opted to approach from the side which was obstructed by the power line, approaching perpendicular to the wires. This was the best option taking into account the height of the buildings and trees, even though it meant landing with a cross wind.

However, after glancing at the power lines which appeared to run in a straight line, I saw that the lines actually stopped at the last pylon supplying the building (I could see the broken wire lying on the grass) These broken wires formed a corridor between the last pylon and the building and this allowed me to change the angle of my approach slightly to avoid over flying the lines and to place the helicopter more into the wind. I carried a bit more fuel than the lead helicopter so power available was my first priority and I decided to take advantage of the 10 to 15 knot wind that was blowing at the time.

I started the approach through the corridor formed by the broken wires, but as I approached, I noticed for the first time that there was in fact another line from the last pylon at an angle to the nearby building. I didn’t have enough power to climb over the line so the only alternative was to turn around (downwind), descend, gain speed and fly away. All ended well on the second approach except for my ego and a new set of underpants.

My biggest mistake was to assume that the lines run in a straight line and that the lines stopped where I saw the broken wire. Maybe an even bigger mistake was my “it will never happen to me” mentality. Today I can still say it hasn’t happened to me yet but I’ve learned a valuable lesson that will hopefully last me another twenty years.

There’s a saying that you get two types of pilots, those that have flown through wires and those that still have to. I’ve never believed in the second part of the saying but maybe I’ll change my attitude to: “I’ll strive that it will never happen to me.”

Happy Flying

HARRY
info@askharryhelicopter.com


© Harry Helicopter Training Syllabus 2008