Helicopter Gets Caught

or "vortex ring state". The pilot was slow and the wind must have been from behind, meaning even though he was moving forward, his effective airspeed was at or near zero. If you descend with no airspeed, you settle into your own rotor downwash, and sink like a stone. More collective pitch, your instinctive reaction, only makes things worse (note the low rotor horn as he descends.)

The moral is...NEVER descend like this without knowing which way the wind is blowing.

Yes, I am a helicopter pilot.

New pants please!

That would be really scary.

I would crap my pants of! ^^

Forget all the techinical mumbo jumbo, when it was happening that must have been some scarey S**t Thats why God didnt gve us whings. Now I'll never be able to get my wife on a helicopter.

wat happened to the copter, y did it fall?

sketchy business.

That was scary even though I haven't a clue what actually happened....ANYONE GETTING SICK OF THESE SPAM ..IM SICK TO DEATH OF THESE SCUMBAGS POSTING THEIR USELESS S**t ON HERE..

more like a microburst to me. I've been caught in sudden downdrafts on final before and it is quite a thrill ! That's why you never take your hand off the throttle when landing. Anything can come up--or down !!