Crash Landing A Helicopter Isn't As Scary As You Think!

My pops was a police helicopter pilot for decades. He flew an MD500 and did annual training out here. Knew a lot of the pilots/employees you showed. He got a great kick out of this. Thank you!!!

I absolutely love the quote they have hanging up on the wall " quality isn't expensive it is priceless"

"Don't hold on." Killed me.

Holy cow, that description of nervousness versus excitement is DEEP. That's going to take me some time to fully understand.

"Don't hold on!" Love it! Well done guys. Thanks for a fun video!

I've been on the ground beneath a crashing helicopter. Can tell you that yes, it is just as scary as you think, or more so. On a very hot day in a desert canyon my SAR team was up there to rescue an injured hiker. We were to move the victim down canyon to where a helicopter could land, load up and fly out. Pilot was told not to fly up the canyon as there'd be a tight turn and a cliff wall as it became a box. Pilot flew up anyway. I'm just beyond the turn on the ground in the canyon bottom. Suddenly the helo comes around the turn and sees why he should have listened. No place to go and not enough power in that heat and elevation to climb out. Pilot tries to turn and main rotors clip the wall. The sound is deafening and rock is falling all around me and another rescuer. We scramble to find something to hide behind, I somehow got between two boulders I wouldn't ever have thought I could fit into, which places some rock overhead. Visions of a ball of fire are playing in my head like, "This is it!". In these seconds that felt like hours somehow the helo completes the turn and is drifting down canyon making a horrible racket, as in not the normal which I've heard countless times. Helo goes out of sight and all sound stops. We learn later the pilot managed to come down hard, fracturing some parts I don't know what but is on a ridge lower in the canyon. Pilot hurt his back some and was assisted out by more rescuers. We completed the original victim's evac from the canyon via ground team. Some time later mechanics went in to disassemble the helo into pieces small enough to be hoisted out by a bigger helo, but I wasn't there to see that. This was decades ago and is still as crystal clear in my memory as the moments it was happening. Yeah, crashing is scary, try to avoid doing that.

My grandfather was a helicopter pilot, he was a little over 200 feet off the ground when the tail rotor shaft broke. He auto rotated to the ground and broke his neck on impact, died instantly! The man who was with him spent 5 months in the hospital. Helicopters have all the aerodynamics of a grand piano when something goes wrong!

I too confuse nervousness with excitement! Sometimes you can't tell which one you're feeling which is weird, as they're kind of opposites! Great video, and yes, when you hear a helicopter you stop and watch that helicopter! 😊

I really like the voice over narration. It was nice for DD to have some too.

Love all the aviation content. You guys Rock!

Thank you for another full , calm, and enjoyable show.

Another awesome video and great insight into the training. Your content is always interesting. I have always been a huge fan of the Hughes/MD 500 (incl 520 & 530) helicopters, especially their sound, and my uncle was the shooter for deer recovery in the 70's where the 500 was the machine of choice. There is some berserk footage of 500's going into tight spaces and trimming the foliage with the main rotors.

Thank you Cleetus...you made Dave and team happy campers !!

That was outstanding thank you for taking us along.

Congratulations to everyone. Nicely done guys.

Happy new years to you Dave. Awesome car and nice flying with this helicopter

Yall are some of my favorite youtubers, man. Cleetus included. I am a very proud fan. Thank you all for the awesome content.

Thank you for sharing. Just a little glimpse into the world of Heli flying. I used to fly R/C Acrobatic Heli's and one of my favorite things was running out of gas at about 1000' and landing "autorotation" inverted. So friggin cool.

The cinematography in this is so beautiful. I keep pausing it on shots and just marveling at the shots and the subjects. I love this stuff.

This was a beautiful to watch! Many thanks!