Man who crashed snowmobile into a parked Black Hawk helicopter suing government for $9.5M

I am surprised the govt would allow their helicopter to be parked at an airport with unlimited access.
 
Clip4 said:
I am surprised the govt would allow their helicopter to be parked at an airport with unlimited access.
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Plenty of non towered fields with very little security in place. In this case, at least it’s private property. A lot of Army bases lease land from local farmers to use for LZ training so they don’t have to fly a great distance to a restricted area. None are very secure.
 
Dumb question perhaps but do blackhawks have keys? I presume they must have had some way of locking up, like a throttle lock or something, but do blackhawks have keys natively? I assume not?

Seems like a bad idea if you’re on deck to scramble fast. “Sorry sarge I left my keys in the barracks…”
 
AKiss20 said:
Dumb question perhaps but do blackhawks have keys? I presume they must have had some way of locking up, like a throttle lock or something, but do blackhawks have keys natively? I assume not?

Seems like a bad idea if you’re on deck to scramble fast. “Sorry sarge I left my keys in the barracks…”
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They do. One for the starter igniters and one for the door locks.
 
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Dana said:
According to the FAA it's "Albert Farms Airport".
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From Webster's
Airstrip: A runway without normal air base or airport facilities
Airport: A place from which aircraft operate that usually has paved runways and maintenance facilities and often serves as a terminal

Generally speaking, airports typically have paved runways, fuel, and some type of building. An airstrip is usually just that. Maybe a few hangars. Point is that this was a private field where the owner allowed people to use it for snowmobiles. He then gave permission for the Army to land a helo there without telling them that snowmobiles regularly used the area. He also didn't put up any warnings for the snowmobilers that the airstrip was now in use.
 
AKiss20 said:
Interesting. On base are they just left doors unlocked and ignition keys in or is there a procedure for getting the keys?
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They’re unlocked. The keys are usually with the log book / computer. Crew chief signs that out and gives the keys to the PIC. Generally they’re only locked when away from base over night somewhere.
 
Velocity173 said:
They’re unlocked. The keys are usually with the log book / computer. Crew chief signs that out and gives the keys to the PIC. Generally they’re only locked when away from base over night somewhere.
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Interesting thanks!

Out of curiosity is that true for fixed wing like fighters as well?
 
AKiss20 said:
Out of curiosity is that true for fixed wing like fighters as well?
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Velocity173 said:
Never heard of a fighter using a key though.
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Didn't you guys see Top Gun - Maverick?! Fighters, even obsolete ones at foreign bases, are kept ready to start at all times, no key needed, easily accessible and unguarded.
 
Half Fast said:
Didn't you guys see Top Gun - Maverick?! Fighters, even obsolete ones at foreign bases, are kept ready to start at all times, no key needed, easily accessible and unguarded.
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Well, you did have to fire up a compressor/generator that was operational and conveniently placed next to the aircraft. I don't know how many guards we keep stationed next to aircraft while the base is being actively attacked though.
 
Guy runs into an object on a trail due to his own stupidity, then tries to make bank. Sorry, hope he loses.
 
Keys only came about when a UH-1 was stolen and landed on the White House Lawn…
 
PaulS said:
Guy runs into an object on a trail due to his own stupidity, then tries to make bank. Sorry, hope he loses.
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Yeah same. Two beers and meds and he smacks a giant helicopter, and thinks he has no culpability. Dude needs to move on
 
I'm glad he didn't hit a parked light plane with a family in it, rather than a military helicopter. I feel bad for the flight crew that had to deal with this. Trying to avoid commenting on the rest. Betting that anyone else out there reading this thread that has an airport and has it tagged as OK for something else - horseback riding, 4 wheeler trails, etc, is reconsidering the sensibility of that decision.
 
Velocity173 said:
No idea. Never heard of a fighter using a key though.
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I had a buddy that went through good natured lieutenant hazing. Got sent down to maintenance to pick up the keys to a jet, can’t remember if they told him to request a Form ID-10T to get them or not.

Other good ones: make them go get a bucket of prop wash or 40 feet of flight line.
 
Half Fast said:
Well, the pilot has an obligation to obtain all available information prior to the flight. I don’t believe there is a snowmobile regulation that carries a similar obligation.

That’s why, before landing on a runway here in Florida, I peruse all the Florida snowmobile websites to make sure there’s not a trail that conflicts with my planned landing and parking space.
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The military and public use aircraft operators have their own regulations or operations manuals and aren't necessarily bound by every FAA regulation. Many of the military regulations mirror or may reference an FAA regulation but I don't recall seeing any military regulation using the verbiage of "obtaining all available information prior to flight."
 
Does the law for this venue allow for calculating percentage of responsibility? I've seen lawsuits where the jury calculates damages and assigns part of the fault to the plaintiff which still allows the plaintiff to collect the rest of the judgment from the defendant(s).
 
Witmo said:
The military and public use aircraft operators have their own regulations or operations manuals and aren't necessarily bound by every FAA regulation. Many of the military regulations mirror or may reference an FAA regulation but I don't recall seeing any military regulation using the verbiage of "obtaining all available information prior to flight."
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Well the Army has a similar statement “Before beginning a flight the aircrew will acquaint themselves with mission, procedures, and rules.” Unless it conflicts with any reg or policy, they are bound by the FAA CFRs as well. Violations of which are to be reported to the FAA.
 
Velocity173 said:
Well the Army has a similar statement “Before beginning a flight the aircrew will acquaint themselves with mission, procedures, and rules.” Unless it conflicts with any reg or policy, they are bound by the FAA CFRs as well. Violations of which are to be reported to the FAA.
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"Mission, procedures and rules" are less all encompassing than "ALL available information."
 
Lindberg said:
That doesn't say he was intoxicated.

I take prescription drugs every day before I drive to work, and I'm not intoxicated. And I don't know how much this guy weighs, but an average 200lb guy wouldn't even peak at .04 BAC after two beers, so below the legal limit to fly an airplane, which is definitely not intoxicated. A 150lb lightweight would only be slightly higher than that. Add time, and BAC would be even lower.
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Depending on which Rx drugs, combining even a moderate amount of alcoholic beverages can have an effect greater than the sum of the parts.

Also, .08 is just the level that most (all?) states have ruled someone to be presumed impaired. One can still be very much impaired below a .08, particularly if they don’t regularly consume alcoholic beverages. I know someone that has a few drinks per year, and she is quite impaired after one decent mixed drink.

Finally, “two beers” is almost never actually two beers.

Alternatively, he might have actually had only two, the medication might not have had any impact, and he might have been perfectly fine to operate the snowmobile. Hard to say.
 
Omalley1537 said:
Alternatively, he might have actually had only two, the medication might not have had any impact, and he might have been perfectly fine to operate the snowmobile. Hard to say.
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True enough.

If the guy was cold stone sober, then why did he operate the snowmobile in a careless, dangerous, reckless manner?
 
Lndwarrior said:
The guy has a point if the statement that the aircraft was parked on a designated snowmobile trail, unlighted, and camouflaged, at night, is true.
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I’m not in the anti-lawsuit crowd, but this is absurd. The guy said he had two beers, which means he had between 6 and infinity; he did so while taking prescription meds, always a no-no, he was going 65 mph (!!!) in the dark over rough terrain and he hit something. Sorry, but I don’t care what he hit, this was 100% his fault.
 
Bob Noel said:
True enough.

If the guy was cold stone sober, then why did he operate the snowmobile in a careless, dangerous, reckless manner?
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That's the way most snowmobilers (or ATV drivers or motocross drivers) I have known normally operate.

Still his fault though.
 
JOhnH said:
That's the way most snowmobilers (or ATV drivers or motocross drivers) I have known normally operate.

Still his fault though.
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I’ve ridden/raced motocross for 32 years. Any successful motocrosser I know operates anything but recklessly. It may appear reckless to the uninitiated but it is calculated and although I push my limits, I don’t disregard them.

The ones who are reckless are typically short-lived, and/or the pieces of garbage who ride motocross bikes on city streets for Instagram likes.
 
Bob Noel said:
True enough.

If the guy was cold stone sober, then why did he operate the snowmobile in a careless, dangerous, reckless manner?
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Valid point. I mainly used the portion you quoted as a counterpoint to consider. I tend to believe the guy was schnockered.
 
Omalley1537 said:
Depending on which Rx drugs, combining even a moderate amount of alcoholic beverages can have an effect greater than the sum of the parts.

Also, .08 is just the level that most (all?) states have ruled someone to be presumed impaired. One can still be very much impaired below a .08, particularly if they don’t regularly consume alcoholic beverages. I know someone that has a few drinks per year, and she is quite impaired after one decent mixed drink.

Finally, “two beers” is almost never actually two beers.

Alternatively, he might have actually had only two, the medication might not have had any impact, and he might have been perfectly fine to operate the snowmobile. Hard to say.
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That's a lot of words to conclude that "prescription drugs" encompasses a hell of a lot more than sleeping pills and narcotics.

And according to the article, they don't allege he drank "two beers," they allege her drank two beers.

The assertion here was that he was intoxicated, which is an inadequately supported conclusion.
 
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lawsuit bingo

That judge is certainly something...
 
I don’t know the details of this case, but my experience with Army helo pilots is they seldom adhere to the rules we in GA do, so I tend to be sympathetic with the snowmobile driver. Two weeks ago I flew in Hopkinsville and there was Blackhawk hanging out on the runway, not talking, then he took off, still not talking, I was announcing and asking him what his intentions were, no response. When he finally got far enough away I landed and I was rolling out he came up on freq, “Oh, sorry, we were having radio problems!” Yeah, but you heard me, didn’t you, jerk?

I fly around the DC SFRA alot, I know they have ADSB because occasionally they have it on but just as many times they don’t, have had several sub-one-mile encounters with them.

They really need to adhere to the same rules we all do, when they are in shared airspace.
 
I suspect the doofus will likely not see a penny of that award if the government appeals.
 
I'd prefer my taxes went to training flights than paying this guy...
 
This training event sounds more like a social visit. They landed there because the IP had a friend who lived nearby and wanted to hang out with him for awhile.

Good thing they didn’t slew the stab up or that dude would be missing the top of his head.
 
The Black Hawk has a movable horizintal stabilator that is used to trim the pitching forces. It normally operates automatically, and it uses airspeed to change the angle of the stabilator. At 0 airspeed, the stabilator trailing edge points down about 40 degrees, but it will go up about 10 degrees at max speed. In case the automatic control system fails, the pilot has the capability to manually slew the stabilator (a failed auto controller can turn you into a smoking hole in the ground).

When you land, the stabilator trailing edge will be pointing down at the max (~40 degree) angle. Standard procedure is to manually slew the stabilator up. It appears that the crew didn't do that, which prevented it from slicing off the top of the dude's head.
 
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