Aer Corps Helicopter Door Falls Off mid flight

brettmirl

BREAKING: Investigation underway after the door of an Army helicopter fell off mid flight while travelling over Dublin this evening. Door landed in the Clondalkin area, Gardai currently at the scene. No injuries have been reported

https://twitter.com/11schillrob/status/1263529952416235520?s=21

Video of it on the ground here: https://twitter.com/stebreen/status/1263529898666311680?s=21

FluffPiece

Steer55

Thank God, no body was killed. The consequences don't bear thinking about.

FluffPiece

Not the first time this has happened either is it, I think about 10 years or so ago a similar incident with a minister on board if I recall correctly.

Does my memory decieve me or is this the second time I have heard of this happening?

What is it about these door mechanisms that they are not designed to eh... stay on??

faoiarvok

Topgear on Dave wrote: »

Does my memory decieve me or is this the second time I have heard of this happening?

What is it about these door mechanisms that they are not designed to eh... stay on??

Not sure about the AW139 in particular, but on military helis they’re often designed to be removable for flying with a mounted gun sticking out of the doorway

StackSteevens

FluffPiece wrote: »

Not the first time this has happened either is it, I think about 10 years or so ago a similar incident with a minister on board if I recall correctly.

Yep - that creep Martin Something or other (former FF Minister from Waterford) was on board, on a junket to or from Killarney IIRC.

EDIT: Martin Cullen - former PD who, I think, switched to FF. A good pal of Monica Leech!


https://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0302/114650-cullenm/

degsie

Title says 'Aer Corps" but the door clearly shows "Air Corps"! I'm confused

StackSteevens

StackSteevens wrote: »

Yep - that creep Martin Something or other (former FF Minister from Waterford) was on board, on a junket to or from Killarney IIRC.

Aye, Martin Cullen.

mr.anonymous

There was also this in 2007
https://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0411/101936-salthill/

Salthill airshow helicopter door fell off injuring people on the beach.

Cheshire Cat

Years ago when we still had an airshow in Salthill, a helicopter lost its door while taking off from Salthill Park. Fell on the beach, fortunately there were only minor injuries.

Cheshire Cat

Mr Anonymous beat me to it!

Storm 10

mr.anonymous wrote: »

There was also this in 2007
https://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0411/101936-salthill/

Salthill airshow helicopter door fell off injuring people on the beach.

Turned out no one was injured chancers

degsie

I presume this is part of their open door policy?

Beechwoodspark

This could’ve been a very serious incident so they were steeped with luck this time.

dhaughton99

Didn’t something similar happen to the Gardai surveillance plane?

mr.anonymous

Storm 10 wrote: »

Turned out no one was injured chancers

"A woman attending the airshow told inspectors that the door hit her in the chin before she fell to the ground."

Thought as much. Surely the only result of a helicopter door falling 40m in the downwash would be decapitation :P


Very fortunate no one was hurt in the incident today though.

billy few mates

mr.anonymous wrote: »

"A woman attending the airshow told inspectors that the door hit her in the chin before she fell to the ground."

Thought as much. Surely the only result of a helicopter door falling 40m in the downwash would be decapitation :P


Very fortunate no one was hurt in the incident today though.

Or unfortunate depending on how you view our state compensation culture...

coinop

Very embarrassing for the Air Corps. Are they using sellotape to hold our helicopters together or what? Just as well we aren't relying on these amateurs to defend the country from a military attack. Oh wait..

Del2005

coinop wrote: »

Very embarrassing for the Air Corps. Are they using sellotape to hold our helicopters together or what? Just as well we aren't relying on these amateurs to defend the country from a military attack. Oh wait..

IIRC it's a civilian spec helicopter so not much use to defend us if we were attacked, I doubt that a single military spec helicopter would be able to do much to defend us anyway.

We don't spend enough to defend ourselves so it's not the militaries fault if we are attacked and we have no defences.

Oink

Del2005 wrote: »

IIRC it's a civilian spec helicopter so not much use to defend us if we were attacked, I doubt that a single military spec helicopter would be able to do much to defend us anyway.

We don't spend enough to defend ourselves so it's not the militaries fault if we are attacked and we have no defences.

The way I see it the army etc are only here to provide (useful) manpower to the state and to go die first if we’re ever attacked.

Getting back on topic, I would love to hear how this incident was impossible to prevent after the last few times. Surely at this stage someone needs to sit in court and have their arse handed to them.

California Dreamer

Tenger/Irish Steve/L1011, when will all these strange usernames go away? I don't want those weird AH'ers coming in here to see our nerdiness! :D;)

Next thing you know there will be talk of AL(EI) and RA(FR) and telling the time using the 12 hour clock!

Hotblack Desiato

coinop wrote: »

Very embarrassing for the Air Corps. Are they using sellotape to hold our helicopters together or what?

Same thing happened to the RAF at an air show in Salthill about ten years ago, that one caused injury.

Storm 10

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Same thing happened to the RAF at an air show in Salthill about ten years ago, that one caused injury.

I posted already that there were no injuries they were chancers trying it on. it was 13 years ago.

Boxcar_Willie

Door latch seems to be in the open position.

The door would have descended to the ground gently like a butterfly , light aluminium and concave-shaped . Would still do damage though !!

Oink

This. I agree entirely.

Oink wrote: »

I would love to hear how this incident was impossible to prevent after the last few times. Surely at this stage someone needs to sit in court and have their arse handed to them.

Hotblack Desiato

Storm 10 wrote: »

I posted already that there were no injuries they were chancers trying it on. it was 13 years ago.

How do you know they were chancers?

Air Corps spokesman says because it's wide and light it spirals down more or less horizontally like a sycamore seed, so it's quite possible to get hit in the chin.

kevin711

brettmirl wrote: »

BREAKING: Investigation underway after the door of an Army helicopter fell off mid flight while travelling over Dublin this evening. Door landed in the Clondalkin area, Gardai currently at the scene. No injuries have been reported

https://twitter.com/11schillrob/status/1263529952416235520?s=21

Video of it on the ground here: https://twitter.com/stebreen/status/1263529898666311680?s=21

It's AIR Corps.
Not 'Aer' Corps.
AIR CORPS.

CrabRevolution

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

How do you know they were chancers?

Air Corps spokesman says because it's wide and light it spirals down more or less horizontally like a sycamore seed, so it's quite possible to get hit in the chin.

It's relatively light compared to its size and surface area (hence the slow descent rate), not light in absolute terms. It's still several kilos of aluminium falling and spinning.There isn't a hope you could be hit on the chin and suffer anything less than getting your jaw impaled, if not getting decapitated.

Hotblack Desiato

So the AAIU report is wrong then. You'd better write to them...