blindfly

unfortunatly, we suffered a terrible accident this friday when a r/c heli ramed into a 12 years old boy who came as a viewer to watch his fathers friend flying.

things are currently under police investigation with the assistance of a special arial accident investigator.
apparently the pilot lost control (it is yet unclear wheather is was due to a tecnical problem or not),
resulting the helicopter to decent rapidly and accelerate towards a group of peolpe who came to watch and hit the young boy head-on in the head.
I must mention the it is not an authorised tlying field thus no safety fences!
as there are only about 3-4 authorised fields in here people just find wide open spaces and a good abandoned piece of raod and gather around them for flying.garage area, taxi area and flying area are known but nothing marks them.

the boy is now still in critical condition, in the hospital after a head cergury, still unconsciouse since friday.

a very sad story that made a lot of echos here about the way we handle our aircrafts.
a lot of criticism is being heard from the non flying public about the hazards of the hobby.

hopefully the boy will survive this accidend,
all my hopes for his well being

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Sorry to hear about the accident.
Maybe instead of condemning the hobby, maybe the government will set aside room and rules for flyers.

rcu guest-delete

Mazlat, I feel pretty sad about the kids misfortune. My prayers now for him, his Family and the people involved. Please inform us about the boys condition, now that I know I will be much worried about him. I got kids too, I know what the feeling is.
Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help. Hope he gets well soon. JT

BelIblis

yes, let us know about his condition... that poor guy, he must have felt awfull

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Sorry to hear about the little guy. I don't have anything against the whirlybirds or their pilots but I have always evacuated the field with my 5 year old for that very reason. He has been coming out flying with me since he was 6 mo old and now vocalizes his dis-appointment when we do this. But they fly closer and have much less warning than their fixed wing cousins. When I feel he is paying enough attention to all his surroundings and is reasonably capable of knowing how to get out of the way my feelings may change. I truly hope the lad recovers.

flyintexan

My Feedback: (1)

Very sad. I hope the boy pulls through. My thoughts are with his family. I'm worried the authorities will make an example out of the pilot based on the fact that it is not an authorized flying site.

Alliot

R/C clubs are rare in Madagascar, but there are many opened spaces where everyone can fly a model airplane on his own risk. I still attract spectators when I fly my airplane in a huge field that is far away from urban areas. They are not aware of the danger of this hobby. So, I usually tell them to move away from me and my plane when my plane is in flight. Sometimes, I' m likely to yell at them before landing!!

smokingcrater

the usual response isn't to make it safer, just to get rid of it.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Yea and considering all the other issues they have over there fairness and the pursuit of a good hobby for a realitive minority may not get too much consideration.

Here is my little flying buddy, I hope my actions will keep him safe.

cyclejerk

Any news/update on the condition of the boy? our prayers are with them.

dscott

Yeah, lets make the Government bigger

Come on, we have sense - lets use it. The Gov would be the end of the hobbie then we would pay them for the rest of time to keep it dead.

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

I was really taken aback reading this, and symphatize with the boy and his family. I am contemplating getting into helis and this article worries me. I have two young boys and I have hesitated to bring them to my flying field due to the fact that some people just don't follow safety rules. I've seen videos of heli 3D flights, and it sounds like one big chopper knife in the air ! I can't imagine the experience the poor boy went through at the moment of impact. My prayers are with him and his family

Re-Builder

I really hope the young boy pulls through this. Please post as soon as you get an update.

I have been flying a while now, and have wanted to get a heli. I now fly larger planes and the larger props are just a dangerous. It's not the planes or heli's, It's how they are used. Caution is a must.

My best wishes fior his speedy recovery and support for his family.

bumper

Well that is tragic my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, and I hope he makes a full recovery. But not to talk bad about the replies you have had, but you do not want the government involved with this hobby. You think this stuff is pricy now just wait till they get involved with it, you wont even be able to afford a heli or a plane. And if you can afford it you want be able to afford the schooling you'll have to have to own one, and opperate it. Anything the government touches turns into alot of money. Just think about that?

MerlinL14

I am not getting dragged into the pro's and con's of safety. I just want to offer my best wishes to the young lad and his family.

DocYates

My Feedback: (102)

It has been posted elsewhere that this young man died of his injuries, evidently this occurred in Isreal, or is this another case that occurred at the same time?
Tommy

antslake

My Feedback: (1)

I guess we should cancel ALL flying unless its absolutly neccessary, that includes major airlines too. Oops, the government gets money from that, I guess that won't happen.
Wai wait, we shouldn't even be allowed to cross streets any more either, cause you all know what could happen if you don't follow the rules.

Its up to us guys, to keep this hobby safe. Sometimes we get lost in how fun it is, and forget how dangerous in could be when not done correctly.

My prayers go out to the boy and family. It's got to be hard to lose someone that way (if he didn't make it).

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

i often bring my 3 year old nephew with me to the field. Stories like this scare me. When i am flying i make sure he is next to me. When i want to land i have him hold onto my pant leg so i know where he is. often, a flying buddy will keep on eye on him during my flight also. He loves airplanes, but is too young to realize the danger that they pose. He has been very good and is never in the way, but i make sure he is always next to me. I know for sure, so help me god, if any aircraft ever was to happen to be heading remotely in his direction, i would make sure i would be between him and the plane. I dont care whether helicopter, or 50% ultimate bipe, i would without a doubt protect him first, then if there is time, myself. Stories like this are sad, but they do happen.

I also know, if i was on the other end (the pilot) and my plane was heading for a person(s), i would rather nose it into the ground then risk trying to save the plane and turn away from the people. Cause the save may not happen, and then you have a major tragedy on hand.

Take a look at full scale airshows. #1 priority of the pilot in a failure is to direct the aircraft away from spectators, then if there is time, eject. Just look at the example of the f-16 from the thunder birds. The pilot was .3 seconds away from impact because he manuevered the plane away from the crowd, then ejected. His life was saved along with many, many spectators. Sadly, many a airshow pilot has died directing a disabled aircraft away from spectators, to only run out of time to eject.

We all need to give our part in safety. Sadly, like in this case, the pilot was not aware of the location of spectators and a tragic accident happened.
I make i know where onlookers are, i even ask other pilots that arnt in the air where spectators are, and i also advise if a person is approaching the flight area and another pilot is flying.

please fly safe, for the sake of our hobby.

sean

hogbilly

In reply to Ifixairplanes, I agree with you complelety. I recently built a plane for a club member, on the second day of flying he had to put it into the ground due to spectators and wind issues. It was sad to see but had to be done. lucky for him he is a great pilot and managed to do very little damage.

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

hogbilly: That was a noble thing to do. like i said, if the situation ever arose i would rather destroy my plane then someones life.

sean

Goku

My Feedback: (3)

I agree with all that has been sad... I'm not the best pilot, so my landings sometimes are a bit off.... Its a bummer when you have to watch yourself intentionally drive your plane into the ground .... but of course, that's much better than the alternative. The folks I fly with can usually tell I'm coming in for a landing when I yell "RUN FOR IT!!!" On the bright side, I am getting to be really handy with epoxy!


My prayers are with those invloved in the accident...

Has there been any update on the kiddo's condition?

blindfly

Hi everyone,

sorry for dissapearind for a while.

s one of you mentioned before, sadly the kid had passed away.
after strugeling for a week in the hospital, his condition seemed to be stable but then all of a sudden
it detiriarated badly and he died.
Doctors say that the brain damage had caused a critical malfunction af critical systems causing his death.

I an sorry to bring these bad news.

Hopefully we can all learn something from this and be better pilot/flyiers putting safety above all.
this is what makes a profetioal - range checking, voltage checking before EVERY flight, flying away from people
and knowing your and your plane's limits and abilitys.

I know that making fun of the subject is a way of handeling with it, since it is not that easy to hanle hith straight forward,
but I do hope that the point of me bringing this accident to your attention got through.

LOTS OF FUN AND HAPPYNESS

GABI

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

i am glad you brought this forward. Hopefully it will make some people realize that this sorta stuff can happen. It can be a very dangerous hobby IF someone isnt paying attention or dosnt know what they are doing.

sean

wldcwbypilot

That is horrible, last spring an experiened rc heli pilot was training another in Houston. He did not make it home that night, the heli veered into him and partial decapitated him. The student pilot hit the deck which saved his life. Dull objects like round poles during automobile accidents cut people in half, something that is 3 foot long and relatively sharp will slice you up. I really feel for the child, but helicopters are by far too twitchy. We have one heli pilot that flies at our field, My flying bud and I pack up as soon as he starts to fuel up. He is an excellent pilot but rc electronics have been know to go out when least expected. My prayers to the young man, hope he comes thru with flying colors.

will

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

My sympathies & prayers are with the little guy & his family. I am very sorry to hear he didn't make it [&o]
Joe