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Lost Horizons Lead to Tragedy

"In the final moments of the flight, the helicopter had turned westward and apparently gained altitude." Tomas Picka/Shutterstock
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A novice helicopter pilot, despite warnings against VFR conditions and rental agreement violations, undertook a pleasure flight in fog over the Chesapeake Bay.
  • The flight resulted in a fatal crash, likely due to the pilot experiencing spatial disorientation from losing a discernible horizon in the "gray-on-gray" foggy environment over water.
  • The accident highlights the critical dangers for low-time VFR helicopter pilots operating in conditions that obscure visual cues, as they may lack the training and instrumentation to recover from disorientation.
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In May 2019, two men took off from Tipton Airport (KFME) in Fort Meade, Maryland, for a pleasure flight. They were in a Guimbal Cabri G2 helicopter, and had hoped to find and photograph a relative of the passenger who was fishing from a boat in the Chesapeake Bay.

The morning was foggy; when the pilot called to file the flight plan required by the Washington, D.C., special-flight-rules area, the briefer reported that an airmet for possible IFR conditions was active until evening, and VFR was not recommended. When asked if he would like a weather briefing, the pilot replied that he did not need any other information.

Peter Garrison

Peter Garrison taught himself to use a slide rule and tin snips, built an airplane in his backyard, and flew it to Japan. He began contributing to FLYING in 1968, and he continues to share his columns, ""Technicalities"" and ""Aftermath,"" with FLYING readers.

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