(Please SUBSCRIBE!) Quick summary of the NTSB report on the Helicopter Crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and so many others. Also, we tackle the big question of the day in the aviation community… Will SUN n FUN happen this year?
Dan’s story about the prop strike: https://youtu.be/cvLGdH-NeNg
For a great detailed analysis of the NTSB report on Kobe, check out Juan Browne at Blancolirio’s take: https://youtu.be/VqvgAuFgk00
Thanks to Martin Pauly for the SUN n FUN footage: https://youtu.be/ZkX8oUYveKY
And thanks Ken for the Lites introduction!
Crew: Brad Herbert, Rupert “Alex” Prado, Kara Rainer
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00:26 Summary of Kobe Bryant Crash
03:52 SUN n FUN news – Is it still on?
06:13 Channel Updates
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41 Comments
I'll be at Sun'n Fun with my Cessna 182.. Which I purchased from … Sun 'n Fun. N2483Q no longer sports the logo but it'll be there as it has been for many years.
Your are the first one to really address the corporate pilot "get-there-itis". And while he was well acquainted with Kobe, he didn't have the gumption to land at Van Nuys and tell them to take an Uber. And while he was instrument rated, he was way out of currency, and his company wasn't allowed to fly IFR. Lot of circumstances to set up his mindset.
Overhaul on condition
Pilot cliche #37
ADSB in with AHRS wifi to Ipad for synthetic vision. Bam! Done. 500$ fix
Dan, I totally agree with you on additional equipment. Unless you want to completely take the pilot out of the equation, something we might be able to do in ten years, then the pilot needs to be fully aware of what he's doing, be proficient in his or her operation of the aircraft, and be willing to say 'Nope, sorry, we're out of here.' All of which this pilot could have done, but didn't.
No amount of additional equipment is going to work if you don't use it, or don't understand it, or are rusty in your flying skills. One point, I thought this guy had 75 hours of instrument time in the S-76. Did I miss something? He may not have been instrument current, though.
Nobody calling for SVFR changes for helicopters? Inadvertent IMC chances seem pretty high in SVFR and we know even the best helo pilots are able to kill themselves this way. Since there are several exemptions for helicopters in SVFR operations, maybe we need to reduce those or disallow SVFR to helicopters completely since those pilots are especially susceptible to spacial disorientation when encountering inadvertent IMC.
So, don't you take the price of current repairs divided by the remaining time till overhaul, and ring that against the price of a full overhaul divided by the TBO to determine which is cheaper for the remaining hours? So if an overhaul costs $35000 and gets you 2000 hours and you have 500 hours to go before overhaul, the break even point is $8750 for the current repair before overhaul is indicated. This is all assuming the overhaul would go off on schedule, etc. Don't most A&Ps do a careful and thorough inspection to determine the requirement for overhaul?
Thanks for providing the SnF update..
Great video Dan. Ready to see the new episodes of In the Hanger. 🤘🇺🇸🛩️
Wish I could come to Sun N Fun but not really feasible this year. Next year I hope.
Unless the cost of overhaul is beyond your bank account right now, I think you would be crazy not to do it. You said that it is near TBO anyway. Why would you want your plane out of commission again in a relatively short time – assuming that you would overhaul maybe a couple hundred hours past TBO. That's probably about two years away – maybe less.
Being close to TBO seems like a no brainer to me. Overhaul.
37 37 37 37…😆
I couldn't have said it any better regarding Kobe's pilot. I drew an eerie similarity between terrain awareness technology to be installed at the suggestion of the NTSB – funny how the same situation, but different, is regarding the gun control argument that comes up in government ad-nauseam whenever there's a trigger (no pun intended). Just like the pilot that already had the tools available to him to avoid this tragic outcome, we already have MANY laws on the books regarding firearms, but they're not used! Government's solution to any firearm-related problem is more laws. Any thinking person knows this will never work. If you can't enforce what you already have, why add more laws? It's just ironic that they'd recommend terrain awareness in a helicopter. It's the exact same logic! A pilot will get so sick and tired of that warning screaming at him day in and day out that he'll either, A: Tune the noise out as a distraction, or B: Disable it. As you said, the pilot already had autopilot, and instruments to get him out of this situation – both of which he failed to utilize.
Insert #37 here … 😀
I'm very familiar with big expenses in life, but I will say, anything you spend on that engine is money well spent, so long as you have no plans to sell 2OY in the near future. Cheaper to keep her, as they say! But in all seriousness .. there are MANY benefits to a NEW engine, empty bank account notwithstanding. Safety, power, efficiency, and you'll have bought yourself another worry-free 2,000 hours of flying – that's ALOT of air time! Take the hit now … because I can guarantee the longer you wait, the more it will cost. You'll be glad you did once you tune out the financial pain. 😉 I just had to do the same decision making with a transmission in my truck: Do I spend $1,200 on the same crap that couldn't get me past 103k miles … or do I spend $4,800 on one that will take ANYTHING I can throw at it. I'm now broke, but it was an easy decision. Still cheaper than a new truck any way you slice it!
Man, would I love to be headed to Sun n Fun in a couple months. I'll get down there some day (and to Osh), but unfortunately not any time soon due to the aforementioned truck depleting the funds! 🙁 But when the time comes, I know that transmission will get me there. The engine, and transfer case, are different stories entirely …
Hi Dan! Thanks for the great content, as usual! I hope Lola gets better soon 🙂
Quick question on the 2 Hours actual IMC time statement for the S-76 pilot. I have been looking for that number and don't find it. I agree that he did not have much since he indicated in his resume (at the moment of hiring in 2011) a total of 68.2 simulated time. In 2019 on his 135.63(a)(4), he shows 75 hours. Not that all make a difference since the NTSB could not determine if he was even instrument current. Clearly, he only accumulated only 7 hours in 8 years.
Another issue brought up is that the operator's 135 ops specs were issued for VFR operations. There was a discussion at the board meeting that this could have been a straightforward IFR flight. I could not agree more.
RE: Engine – Perhaps doing the overhaul is going to be better, especially if you are close to TBO!
Why would a company not be able to fly IFR.sounds like another rule by the FAA that is absolutely stupid
Definitely a great episode. I was thinking, maybe since we trying to save people from typing with the number thing. What number would superior judgement trumps superior skills. Save us from using extra bandwidth. Maybe #1. keep up the great work. You two do superior work as the people behind the production.
Sorry Dan, 42.
#37 #26 #34
There were really no surprises in this NTSB report. Most reviewers had it pegged right away that it was pilot flight into IMC and subsequent spacial disorientation that was the cause of this accident.
As for the overhaul, well aircraft monetary units are imaginary so get it done while it is apart now. You will feel better in the long run. Besides you have to be in a new tax bracket by now with your YouTube windfall…LOL I will be totally vaccinated before the tapings how about a special exemption for me to attend… 🙂
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Totally agree with your statement on the crash: it wouldn’t have made a difference if the helicopter had a terrain awareness system. It was totally a Human Factors related accident.
Keep up the great work!
Is Continental CD-300 an option if a partnership with Continental is possible? Could Lola be retitled 'experimental' to get around red-tape and 'certified' costs?
Correction!! ..Lola did not have a prop strike! Lola's proud owner had a prop strike! Lola's pride isn't hurt! Lola knows she will fly again! Lola could care less about the cost because Lola knows she has a sucker for a caregiver! Blue Skies brotherman!
SPEEKING OF SUN N FUN , I have a 5 bedroom 4 bath house in a upscale gated community, that I am thinking of ARBNB for the top floor 2 beds 1 bath on one side 2 beds 1 bath on the other side, in Auburndale 2 miles from KGIF Winter Haven, 10 miles from Lakeland but just outside the Restricted flight area. So you can come and go with your plane without a clearance or time slot. What do you guys think?
Which shop in Alabama did you send your engine?
Don’t wait till you get your aircraft back, book yourself some time in a single engine sim with a good instructor. It won’t be quite the same set up as your 210 but it doesn’t matter a good instructor will make you work hard the the basic but fundamental skills.
Sun and probably will go ahead but definitely shouldn’t. I’ll turn into a spreader event, some people, we’ve all met the type, will do all they can to do the absolute minimum compliance with COVID-19 safety. The organisers aren’t sending a firm message with the mask requested but not required outside line.
It’ll be a mess people will get sick lawsuits will fly even faster than the aircraft in the show.
Until the ridiculous mask mandates are dropped, I will be sitting out air shows.
Love this channel
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Dan,
If you are looking for future content, maybe you could discuss what your insurance company is paying for, assuming you filed a claim.
Apart from a new or serviceable used prop, are they covering the costs associated with removal, and the full scope and detail of TCM SB 96-11B?
Assuming they are, the NDT on the crank and case are major factors in the overall price of an overhaul. The other assumption is that the labor for disassembly and reassembly is already covered. Do you already know if your case and crank meet new, overhaul or service limits?
Do you have quotes from the facility doing the inspection to continue with overhaul?
Showing how you run the numbers to arrive at a IRAN vs overhaul decision would make for an interesting episode.
Aviation cliche thread!
1. Eight hours bottle-to-throttle
2. Better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here
3. Airspeed is life, altitude is insurance
aaaaaand go!
Happy to see aviation events like Sun 'n Fun planning to happen, while still working in some new health and safety concepts for everyone attending. Many things will require compromises for a while, but a compromise still beats cancelation.
Dan, great job and thanks for the SNF update. As for the overhaul, it's a "painful" decision (on your wallet) but if you are that close to TBO, you'll appreciate it being done while they have it apart.
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The concept of VFR only 135 operations is just shocking to me. Discouraging helicopter operations from flying IFR is insanity.
There are OLD PILOTS and BOLD PILOTS but no OLD AND BOLD PILOTS!
So what number did you give "superior Judgement trumps superior skills"? LOL