amen zwa, esq.This deadly crash of the #Kamov #KA226 #helicopter in #Dagestan, #Russia, by the Caspian Sea, was a preventable mishap—a "settling with power" incident.
The pilot came in too heavy and too hot, could not arrest the descent with a severe nose-up attitude and a full collective, a tail-strike ensued, which resulted in a partial boom separation. Not unusual.
But with the co-axial rotors, the boom separation did not give off that characteristic torque effect that could be felt with a conventional tail-rotor design. And also because of the co-axial rotor design, the aircraft remained under control, and it subsequently touched down in shallow water. That was when the pilot committed a fatal error of judgement: he decided to go airborne again, instead of parking it on the nearby empty beach.
The pilot would have known he experienced settling with power, and he would have felt the tail strike, even if he did not hear the strike. He should have erred on the safe side and parked it, instead of resuming flight under such risky, uncertain circumstances.
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