Malmstrom HH-1 Has a Hard Landing

DA SWO

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I love how we call it a hard landing when we bend a 'chopper now-a-days.
Just glad everyone was safe.

From mil.com

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2010/08/ap_airforce_malmstrom_helo_081110/

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. — A helicopter from Malmstrom Air Force Base made a hard landing Sunday and then ended up on its side at an airstrip in southwestern Montana while transporting an injured civilian hiker the crew was evacuating from an area forest.

Three of the crew members aboard the UH-1N helicopter, assigned to the 341st Missile Wing, were taken to St. James Hospital in Butte, where they were treated and released, according to a news release from Malmstrom’s Office of Public Affairs.

The civilian hiker, who was being evacuated from a remote area of the Beaverhead National Forest, was reportedly transported to a hospital in Missoula for further evaluation.

A team from Malmstrom was dispatched to the scene at the Wise River Airport about 40 miles southwest of Butte on Sunday morning to assist local authorities and to begin assessment and recovery of the aircraft.

When the helicopter made its hard landing it then turned onto its side. Initial reports indicate the three crew members and the civilian were able to exit the helicopter safely.

Col. Anthony Cotton, 341st Missile Wing commander, said it is very common for Malmstrom to respond to search-and-rescue efforts around the state.

Officials could not release details about what may have caused the crash, the total damage done to the aircraft, or the cost of the aircraft.

“Those facts are currently under investigation and are not known at this time. It may take 30 to 60 days before a final report is released,” Cotton said.

An investigation board will be convened by the Air Force’s Global Strike Command to determine the cause of the incident.
 
Disclaimer: pure speculation on my part based on what the crew stated - more than likely auto rotated (Hard Landing) spreading the skids, causing a rotor end to grab and then latch, tilting it over. Regardless, I'm just glad everyone made it out ok.
 
Disclaimer: pure speculation on my part based on what the crew stated - more than likely auto rotated (Hard Landing) spreading the skids, causing a rotor end to grab and then latch, tilting it over. Regardless, I'm just glad everyone made it out ok.

Can you explain the rotor end to grab thing a little? I just assumed a tail rotor failure allowed torque to pull the bird over.
Thanks
 
Can you explain the rotor end to grab thing a little? I just assumed a tail rotor failure allowed torque to pull the bird over.
Thanks

Bending the blades on a hard rotary wing hit is not uncommon. The blade end digs and torque does its thing, flipping the bird. Course, it could have been the tail rotor as well. If it had been tail rotor failure, I would have thought one of them would have stated "We were in a spin prior to hitting". Again just pure speculation on my part until the findings are in once the investigation is concluded.
 
That'll buff out.

And seriously...anymore if it isn't a smoking hole in the ground it will be a "hard landing" even in the event of fatalities.
 
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