Greg Biffle, and family, have died.

[KGIII]

I'm not a huge NASCAR fan but I knew who he was. You might have heard recent news where he was flying his helicopter to help hurricane victims. I found his channel by way of Cleetus, who was a solid friend of his. His YouTube channel amused me.

Even though I'm not a huge NASCAR fan, I might watch it if it's on and I have time, I knew who he was. I am a motor sports fan, after all. He and his immediate family died in the plane accident.

Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family killed in Statesville plane crash, officials confirm

Biffle was one of 7 people killed in Thursday morning plane crash

www.wbtv.com

He will be missed.

That said, I'm in the midst of another wind storm. Power lines are down all around. My fiber went down for a bit. They cut a tree off the lines, and that started working again. I no longer have a satellite connection. So, if fiber goes out AND the power is out longer than the nearest cell tower can keep running, I may disappear for an indefinite period of time. It probably won't be too long, as much of the damage is south of us.

 

[wendy-lebaron]

that's horrible.

i still can't believe kobe bryant and his daughter. died about 10 years ago. from a helicopter accident. iinm also near change of years. one of the most shocking news ever. about the death of a really famous athlete.

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

i still can't believe kobe bryant and his daughter. died about 10 years ago. from a helicopter accident. iinm also near change of years. one of the most shocking news ever. about the death of a really famous athlete.

He died just a month or so before COVID-19 blew up so about five years ago. I remember where I was when I heard it. This post reminded me also of that accident. Use land travel when possible.

 

[KGIII]

Use land travel when possible.

In the US, I don't know for other areas, but you're safer flying than you are driving in a car.

That's only true for commercial flights, at least in the US.

This was a private plane, which is more dangerous than flying in a commercial airplane. Private planes, and private pilots, are on-par with driving, maybe a touch more dangerous.

Commercial planes are exceptionally safe in the US.

Also, in private flight, helicopters are safer than private airplanes.

But, mile per mile, commercial flights are way safer than driving in a car.

I don't know about other areas. And, this only applies to commercial flights. Flying in a small plane (like the one Biffle was in) with a private pilot is not as safe.

Our roads are quite dangerous. We used to hover around 35,000 deaths per year from driving, but we're up around 40,000 deaths per year lately. We also have a whole lot of rules for commercial pilots, while we drive like morons.

 

[MzQ1NjExN2]

In the US, I don't know for other areas, but you're safer flying than you are driving in a car.

That's only true for commercial flights, at least in the US.

I was going to mention take commercial planes rather than private based on common sense. I'm sure they are more rigorously checked and maintained plus as you mentioned professional pilots. In the case of Kobe he was using helicopters to avoid traffic and for short distances if I remember correctly.

 

[KGIII]

In the case of Kobe he was using helicopters to avoid traffic and for short distances if I remember correctly.

Generally speaking, helicopters are fairly safe. In many cases, they're fine so long as you've still got most of your rotors on the top and an aware pilot. You'll have what they call a 'hard landing', but you'll survive with maybe minor back injuries.

Basically, they have 'autorotation'. Because of, you know, physics, the rotors still rotate as you pass through the atmosphere. This rotation slows your rate of descent significantly. A good pilot knows how to feather the rotors just right so that you have a pretty soft landing.

This is one of the most basic skills taught to helicopter pilots. It's an essential skill, and you'll need to demonstrate it just to pass the test.

Yup... To pass the test, you'll disconnect the engines and rotators. You'll then fall from the sky without any power at all. While doing so, you "just" adjust the angle of attack, which slows your descent down. Just a wee bit before you hit the ground, you can adjust the angle even more and make the landing even softer.

So long as you've got your rotators, and control over them, you can use autorotation to your advantage. Good pilots can use it to decide where they land. Depending on their height, they can land miles away from where they got in trouble.

This is timely. I've got a bunch of pilot friends. I fly in a private plane fairly often. They've been trying to get me addicted to the bug. However, I don't want to own a plane. It's too much of a time sink. On the other hand, I'd like a helicopter. I think that'd be useful and fun. I've been pondering taking lessons for a while. (I've operated both helicopters and planes before, just not as the actual pilot.)

 

[kc1di]

As a former UH-1 Helicopter crew chief I can tell you that I've auto Rotated a couple times and don't recommend it But it's better than the alternative.
Was sorry to here about the Biffle family. Something must have gone very wrong. We will just have to wait on the NTSB to sort out what. Flying for the most part is very safe. But things do happen either mechanical or human error.

 

[KGIII]

I can tell you that I've auto Rotated a couple times and don't recommend it

Yeah, it's not something you really want to do. It's something you need to learn how to do. It can also be really expensive to do so. Just because you survived doesn't mean there was no damage.

I have a buddy over near Norridgewock who owns an old UH-1<some_letter_here>. I've played around with that but it's always in a state of disrepair.

We will just have to wait on the NTSB to sort out what.

This is why I've not offered any opinions on the matter. Well, it's one of the reasons. First, I'm unqualified. Second, this sort of thing needs to be investigated before pointing fingers.

Actually, I like how the NTSB does things. They don't like to blame a person; they like to blame a process. They can, will, and have blamed a person, but that's not their preference. Given his fame, I'm sure someone will let us know when the report is ready and released to the public.