Risk Management Magazine

After we landed and shut down, our crew chief was fired up about the event that had just occurred. He was also unhappy about the PC’s choice to continue the flight after half the crew requested to head to parking and shut down. News of the event got back to the standardization pilot, and wisdom was gained by everyone.

I pulled in collective and noticed it took a bit more effort than normal to get us off the ground, but both flight controls and the center of gravity felt normal. With lead departing and us at a 5-foot hover, I waited for their downwash and dust to dissipate and then we were on our way — or so I expected.

What I witnessed instead will forever be engrained as a haunting memory: a solid superstructure pole rising into the low ceiling and, like something out of a nightmare, the tip of the turbine blade spinning out below the clouds, one at a time.