Very Sad and a reminder to look out for wires.

[Vance]

A 1951 Piasecki PV-18 Helicopter hit power lines near Adelanto and all three on board were killed. They were on their way to the Flabob airport in Rubidoux for the Veterans Day celebration.

For those unfamiliar with California, Adelanto is very near El Mirage and Flabob is the home of EAA chapter one and Rubidoux is near Riverside.

I recall a similar helicopter showing up at KBFF several years ago.

Thank you, Vance

 

[brett s]

The pilot did make a mayday call per media reports, makes me think they may have had a mechanical problem first & then hit the wires - the odds of getting a call off afterward aren't great. RIP...

 

[choppergabor]

Yeah Joe Pike was a very experienced pilot and an excellent instructor. There is no way he'd fly into a wire. Just no way. I am certain it was a mechanical failure since he made a mayday call..... I hope his son wasn't aboard too..... Condolences to everyone involved in this horrible accident.

 

[StanFoster]

So sad......



Stan

 

[GyroChuck]

I really hate to hear this kind of news. My condolences to family and friends.

 

[M._Springer]

Vance, the helicopter that attended KBff about three years ago

Vance, the helicopter that attended KBff about three years ago

was the one that crashed near Adelanto, according to Teddy.
My heart goes out to the family and friends of those lost in the accident.
Marion

 

[route66]

I received an email from a friend who watched a TV news report where they interviewed Joe's sons who plan to keep restoring antique as their dad did. While it is a sad day at least the boys were not the passengers. May Joe rest in peace and my prayers are for his family and friends.

 

[Arnie Madsen]

I find this exceptionally tragic on several counts.

A couple of years ago I was able to buy a history book on the accomplishments of Frank Piasecki in the helicopter (pioneer) industry.

He accomplished an amazing amount in a short time , and his story is interesting and exciting. I wish he got more recognition than history has given him so far.

To have someone restore and preserve one of his machines , would certainly have contributed a lot more to his legacy.

Then to have a Piasecki Helicopter on display for Veterans day would have been a great tribute , both to Frank , and those preserving his model PV-18

To have all this go wrong , just seems so wrong.

This year , on Remembrance day , November 11th at 11am , my moment of silence for our veterans will include our helicopter pioneers , and those who attempt to preserve their history.

 

[Hognose]

Here's the FAA prelim on the mishap.

The PV-18 was called the HUP-1 in Navy service (Helicopter, Utility, Piasecki, 1st model) and the H-25 by the Air Force. It was used as a rescue helicopter and saved many lives, it could lift three people so normally flew with a crew of two, a pilot and a flight mechanic who worked the winch. I have a book by a guy who was one of those early Navy rescue pilots. His buddy's helicopter shed its rotors over the sea of Japan. He survived a long career... I'm amazed that there was an HUP-1 still flying.

The machine is most important for its descendants, probably: the long line of Piasecki, then Vertol and now Boeing tandem-rotor choppers made in Philadelphia, including the H-21, H-46 and H-47 series. The H-21s flew the first heliborne air assault in Vietnam. The H-46s and -47s still serve today (although the 46s are about 20 years past their sell-by date, the Marines just can't afford to replace them; the Navy long ago dumped theirs).

I am gratified to hear that the pilot's sons will continue his life's work of preserving vintage rotorcraft. We should all be that lucky in our sons.

********************************************************************************
** Report created 11/10/2009 Record 1 **
********************************************************************************

IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 183YP Make/Model: EXP Description: PV-18 ROTORCRAFT
Date: 11/07/2009 Time: 1630

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed

LOCATION
City: ADELANTO State: CA Country: US

DESCRIPTION
N183YP, AN EXPERIMENTAL PV-18 ROTORCRAFT, STRUCK POWERLINES AND CRASHED,
THE THREE PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, ADELANTON, CA

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 3
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: WIND 240/06 VIC 10 SCT110 T3MP13 DP03 A2997

OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER


FAA FSDO: RIVERSIDE, CA (WP21) Entry date: 11/09/2009


Special to Arnie: in Canada, Remembrance Day is for the fallen, isn't it? (It is in Britain). We Yanks remember them on Memorial Day at the end of May; Veterans' Day is for the living vets. But the solemn Memorial and the celebratory Veterans' Day tend to get combined in the public mind. Since WWII, and especially since the end of the draft army, fewer and fewer Americans have served, to the point where most families don't have a veteran in them any more. Veterans' Day is mostly a day off for government workers down here.

cheers

-=K=-

 

[Hognose]

Here are some links on the aircraft:

General history: http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/piasecki_hup.php

The Army's take (they operated some as H-25, wound up giving them to the swabbies): http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/aviation/factsheets/h25.html

Wikipedia (ALWAYS take WP with a grain of salt):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piasecki_H-25

Here's one in a museum. Click on the photos to enlarge:
http://svsm.org/gallery/HUP-1

I believe that this was the museum that operated this rare craft. Here are their page(s) on the machine:

http://www.rotors.org/h25r/h25r.htm

http://www.rotors.org/h25r/hup1/hup1.htm

(lots more info if you click the links on that site).

I believe these watermarked photos are photos of the mishap aircraft. The page ID's them as 1949 photos, but I think that's the helicopter's age -- there are modern motor vehicles and ICAO runway signs in the background:
http://photovalet.com/87346

My condolence to the friends and family of the mishap crew.

regards

-=K=-

 

[Laura W-P]

Very sad indeed. My condolences to the families.

 

[Vance]

Preliminary accident report.

Preliminary accident report.

On November 7, 2009, about 0830 Pacific standard time (PST), an experimental Piasecki/Pike PV-18, N183YP, collided with high tension wires and crashed near Adelanto, California. The owner/pilot was operating the helicopter under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The commercial pilot and two passengers were killed. The helicopter was destroyed by impact forces and the post crash fire. The local personal flight departed Adelanto Airport (52CL) about 0825, with a planned destination of Riverside, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.

A witness was flying behind the accident helicopter in a Bell 47 and they were talking on the radio to each other using the VHF frequency 123.45. He watched the PV-18 lift off from the airport and head southbound. He said he saw the helicopter flying southbound but that it stopped climbing and stayed low to the ground. He saw the power lines ahead and tried to warn the accident pilot but he received no reply. He saw the helicopter hit the power lines and then it went straight down and burst into flames.

 

[choppergabor]

Thank you Vance. A good man down. It is always terrible when we lose another one of us. God bless their families. Wasn't any mentioning of Mayday call though..... Was there or wasn't there one than? Either way it's tragic...

 

[All_In]

So sorry for the families!

This happens way too often guys. Always look for and fly directly over the poles! You can see the polls from a much greater distance.

Also was the may day call made from the pilot of the chase helio or ????

 

[tadgyro]

Piasecki PV-18

Piasecki PV-18

A 1951 Piasecki PV-18 Helicopter hit power lines near Adelanto and all three on board were killed. They were on their way to the Flabob airport in Rubidoux for the Veterans Day celebration.

For those unfamiliar with California, Adelanto is very near El Mirage and Flabob is the home of EAA chapter one and Rubidoux is near Riverside.

I recall a similar helicopter showing up at KBFF several years ago.

Thank you, Vance

It was the same Heli and same pilot who attempt 2005 El Mirage Fly In
My condolences to family and friends.

Thank You.
Teddy

 

[ScoutPilot]

In flight school the Army etched the saying "All Roads Have Wires" into our heads, to this day I have nor never will forget. Wire strikes seldom have happy endings as I have lost several military friends to wire strikes. If you are set on flying low level do an over flight and recon your operating area. Never rely on maps or sectionals as I have seen where a cable or power company has redirected or strung wires within days of flying that same route, especially through valleys or canyons.

May God be with the families in their time of need

 

[okikuma]

Sorry that I missed this post until now.

My deepest condolences and prayers to the Pike family during this time of sorrow.

Teddy is right. Joe flew the PV-18/HUP-1 to KBFF I believe back in 2005. I took a few pictures of the chopper, however I can't seem to find at this moment.

I looked over the aircraft and spoke with Joe at length about the rebuild and how it flies. Joe at that time it was a little underpowered (it had a Continental R975 radial engine of 550 hp), especially when loaded up to gross weight, however he never planned to operate it that heavy anyway, and this the performance is quite adequate

Last Monday, I had dinner with a long time friend, Hal Knowles (of ONE SIX RIGHT documentary fame). Hal is a retired USMC Aviator and flew helicopters during the last half of his military career including flying with HMX-1 (prior to helicopters, Hal flew F4U Corsairs during WW2 & Korea). We talked about the HUP-1 (USN/USMC designation) and his limited experience flying it.

Not to speculate why the aircraft crashed, Hal did mentioned that one of the drawbacks of a radial engine, especially in the early helicopters was if an intake valve broke on one cylinder, then the engine will loose all power because of the compression stroke of that cylinder will push back into the intake manifold and kill the mixture ratio to the rest of the cylinders, thus loosing all power. This happened to Hal one time while flying an H-34. If an exhaust valve was lost on one cylinder, then the remaining cylinders will still be able to operate.

Here's a photo of Joes HUP-1 I just found off the net along with a link that shows more photos of joe flying his HUP-1

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/395897-remembering-joe-pike.html

http://community-2.webtv.net/GoldEagle4/GoldEagle4sAerie/

Wayne

 

[animal]

here is a great video that shows this helicopter flying.

http://www.youtube.com/hilleraviation

 

[tadgyro]

Thank you Wayne and Animal
Joe was the man .
Teddy