Richard Lightstone, CAS Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 NTSB Details Fatal Discovery Channel Reality TV Crash By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday February 25, 2013 @ 10:29pm PSTTags: Discovery Channel, Reality TV The February 10 helicopter crash that killed three men on the set of an upcoming Discovery Channel reality TV show occurred while the crew was prepping to film a nighttime maneuver, according to a preliminary report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board. Pilot David Gibbs, cameraman Darren Rydstrom, and cast member Michael Donatelli were shooting the untitled Eyeworks USA production when the Bell helicopter they were in collided into sloping terrain near Acton, California at 3:30 AM. The NTSB report dated February 22 revealed that “dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed” at the time of the accident. A GoPro camera and LED light panel had been set up on the aircraft’s windshield to film Donatelli, who was to perform a bag drop to a receiver on the ground. “While maneuvering about 60 miles per hour, the helicopter suddenly pitched down and collided with the terrain below the valley’s wall”, said the report. “The production crew had expected the helicopter to perform high passes prior to maneuvering around near the plateau for the action shot and did not have the cameras on the ground set up or filming”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Flaitz Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 I just read about this. What a terrible accident, a very harsh reminder about safety. Hopefully it might make some people think twice about sketchy situations, it's not worth it. Condolences to their families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastermixaudiomedia Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 The NTSB report dated February 22 revealed that “dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed” at the time of the accident. A GoPro camera and LED light panel had been set up on the aircraft’s windshield... This does not sound like a good combination at all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Waldron Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 February 9 was a new moon.. would have been really dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordi Posted February 26, 2013 Report Share Posted February 26, 2013 “dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed” Would this mean that it was just night time... Cloudy night... Foggy night... Or what? Since Angelo mentions that it was a new moon, yes it would be dang near pitch black out. Any lighting / reflections in the cabin could easily ruin what little night vision we humans have, but that doesn't explain the sudden downward maneuver. As has been mentioned previously, the pilot was very experienced... So I'm not really seeing a solid "this is what caused it" moment here from the NTSB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Harber Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 We were shooting on a unrelated show at Disney Ranch just down the road all night and I got back to my car about 4:30AM wherein I discovered a serious layer of ice on my windshield. Not a little frost but serious scrapper type stuff about 1/2" thick. It was cold and wet with freezing rain that night. I can't help but think that didn't have some bearing on what occurred. On a side note, I was a very good friend of Darren Rydstrom, the camera op/DP on the helicopter. We probably shot together in the area of 400-500 days. He was not a reality yahoo cowboy type of a guy who would forgo safety issues. Not his style. And oddly enough, he was a helicopter pilot via the National Guard and flew in South Dakota if I remember correctly. Horrible, tragic event. I'm not sure what to make of it honestly. Scott Harber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 Well, a light panel on inside an aircraft flying near the ground on a super dark night sounds pretty sketchy to me.....Imagine all the reflections in all that glass.... philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Lewis Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 This Go Pro stuff has to stop. It's over use is incredible. Based in the condition listed in the report it seems to me the light panel and the Go Pro impeded the night vision of what I understand was a hell of a pilot. Producers, stop the go pro shit in windshields! It's unnecessary. This could have been avoided. A reminder to say NO, if it don't feel right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonO Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 discovered a serious layer of ice on my windshield. Not a little frost but serious scrapper type stuff about 1/2" thick. It was cold and wet with freezing rain that night. I can't help but think that didn't have some bearing on what occurred. I have no knowledge of this incident, I'm just speculating- but it's possible that the accident could have been caused by "icing" which is a very dangerous condition for helicopters. It can and has caused crashes. Also, helos are very dangerous and crash fairly often, especially when doing riskier manuevers. They are actually harder to fly than modern fixed wing fighter jets that have heavily computerized flight controls. They might have just caught a weird down draft or up draft and couldn't recover for a variety of unknown reasons. I was an aerial observer in CH46 Sea Knights when I was in the Marines. -Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastermixaudiomedia Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 Here's the preliminary report from the NTSB... having been an aviation geek since a kid, have always been interested in the investigation of aviation incidents. We were shooting on a unrelated show at Disney Ranch just down the road all night and I got back to my car about 4:30AM wherein I discovered a serious layer of ice on my windshield. Not a little frost but serious scrapper type stuff about 1/2" thick. It was cold and wet with freezing rain that night. I can't help but think that didn't have some bearing on what occurred. On a side note, I was a very good friend of Darren Rydstrom, the camera op/DP on the helicopter. We probably shot together in the area of 400-500 days. He was not a reality yahoo cowboy type of a guy who would forgo safety issues. Not his style. And oddly enough, he was a helicopter pilot via the National Guard and flew in South Dakota if I remember correctly. Horrible, tragic event. I'm not sure what to make of it honestly. Scott Harber This report mentions preflight removal of "frost" from the rotors and windshield... sorry that you lost a good friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordi Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 First - for those that knew them personally, I am truly sorry for your loss. I was unaware of the cold conditions, this is the first I am hearing of them. If they were actively removing ice / frost before liftoff, it is exceedingly plausible that a buildup is what brought the helicopter down. It doesn't bring them back, but at least it can offer some measure of comfort that it wasn't pilot error. For those with direct experience with helicopter equipment, are the rotors equipped with any kind of heating to prevent icing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Kittappa Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 I recently was the mixer on a helicopter night shoot- the DP wanted to put in some LED lights up to illuminate the pilot. The flight commander point blank refused to allow this, saying that lighting will all but destroy the pilots night vision capabilities. In the end they allowed subdued low level green lights which had no effect on night vision. I have to wonder if the producers of the show were pushing for more light inside to get the shot and bullied to get their way. I sincerely hope not. It seems that the pilot and camera op in this case were very experienced and I'm sure that they wouldn't deliberately have done anything that would put people at risk, but reality producers can be very pushy and can make it difficult to say no when they want things their way. Deepest condolences to the families and friends of those involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 Even experienced guys can get pushed around by ambitious producers, and end up doing dangerous stuff to please a client and keep their crew working (and not being fired for being uncooperative). (See: "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Patrick_Spens ) philp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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