Plane Hits Helicopter Rotor Downwash

Enjoy this episode of 3 Minutes of Aviation!
✈ SOURCES / FURTHER INFORMATION
Blackhawk rotor downwash hits Pilatus PC-12 during landing
• Rotor wash near mishap
Latam Cargo Boeing 767 terrible landing in Miami
• YEESH! 767 Porpoise at...
Fiji Airways Boeing 737 MAX near wingstrike during crosswind landing
• Fiji Airways B737 Max ...
Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330 large bounce on landing in Boston
• Virgin Atlantic Airbus...
Qantas Airbus A380 wing bending during takeoff
Video by Guillermo C.
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[@GalacticTommy]

That first clip could’ve been deadly so easily. What was ATC doing?!?

[@D.K.-nh1uv]

My question exactly.

[@wildgoose419]

It was probably an uncontrolled airport or during uncontrolled hours, and the pilot was being stupid and definitely violating the separation rules.

[@DanielSilva-gc4xz]

@@jonathanparle8429 As a matter of fact, the pilot never needs permission to go around, so it's even weirder why he didn't do it, specially how famous crashes by turbulence induced by other aircrafts are.

[@theussmirage]

Why was the Pilatus even flying that close to the helicopter? Even without the downwash it could have easily collided

[@occamsrazorblades]

I would guess that it was intentional. I mean, the camera positioning and timing were perfect.

[@jaharireggae4296]

The downwash from helicopters can be so intense that a lot of the time even light helicopters are categorized as a medium weight aircraft, so that there can be a sufficient amount of separation so that this doesn’t happen

[@flybobbie1449]

I asked atc was it necessary for a heli to need runway just before i took off. Heli then departed from grass.

[@DrarslanAbdulsattar]

​keep straight a single right .a single left u will land safely .

[@Simple_Jackass]

Crazy bro. Yeah this is one of those things that we casual fans of aviation don't always know.... it makes perfect sense now that I know it, but I doubt I'd have thought of it on my own if I were suddenly in a position where I had to fly the plane lol!!

[@AndrewMccravy]

I was there in Puerto Rico when that pc12 got rolled. It was right after Maria hit and isla grande was an extremely busy uncontrolled airport due to a lack of power. The pilots got parked and were visibly shook, the fo said he had to fire wall it to keep the plane flying. They were one of the hundreds of flights we saw from Florida for hurricane recovery. A few days later the same thing happened to a landing 172, they were not as lucky and got flipped on landing, had to be taken to an already over taxed hospital. That said working that week at isla grande was the most exhilarating time of my ramp career. Between running the million air ramp and being asked by name by the airport to assist in vip movements is something I’ll never forget. And before you comment where was ATC, ATC DID NOT EXIST. That hurricane knocked our radar in the entire Caribbean, there wasn’t a tower working on that island, the controllers lost contact with you almost off the coast of Florida, and didn’t see you till you got back.

[@charlesreidy9375]

Was there for a week with Civil Air Patrol doing damage assessment pictures for FEMA. Your, right we had no control at all. Didn't get taxie lights till Wed. Fueled our planes from what was in the trucks, once u left San Juan control head on a swivel and broadcast position. I was first air photographer to get airborne. What a mess.

[@JRadventures96]

The Platus PC 12 showing off how much power it has to pull out of the near stall!

[@raynus1160]

Yep, that 1200hp came in very handy

[@cupofjoen]

Stall bro

[@electronwave4551]

I say it was lucky to penetrate out of the heaviest of the down turbulence just enough to generate more wing lift and for the elevator to be able to decrease the increasing angle of attack caused by the plane hanging in the air due to the propeller thrust.

[@justinvanaulen2478]

@@raynus1160 absolutely. I just love the PT6 running to/go power, but would prefer to leave the deadly low tip stall out of it.

[@jamesstuart3346]

6 plus bounces on one landing...gotta be a record. Go Latam!

[@Karlston]

I’ve seen plenty of bouncy landings where the pilots always gunned it and did a go around if there was a second bounce.

[@Stephen2846]

Second bounce, go around.@nathanielneveryman

[@MsSuzie71]

​@@Karlstoni guess with it being a cargo plane, there's no passengers to consider?

[@friedtoaster4059]

@@MsSuzie71the thousands of dollars of cargo destroyed every bounce 💀

[@XLRSAv]

Saw it myself…crazy he didn’t go around!!

[@mathiasfischbach4843]

What in the world was that first clip? Saying "That should not have happened" would be the understatement of the year.

[@GalacticTommy]

Yeah…

[@peanuts2105]

And some. I always go-around if I see a helicopter cross the runway, especially something as big as a Blackhawk ffs.

[@Lemmon714_]

Some pilots are a crash waiting to happen.

[@mrjaycam18]

Poor decision making. That approach should’ve been aborted. Someone commented it was an uncontrollable airport at the time and it true it’s solely on the pilots.

[@jadriel9549]

For the first clip, I'm from Puerto Rico this happened after Hurricane Maria at the TJIG airport. I understand that there was no ATC due to lack of electricity at that time the airport was CTAF.

[@davidwedlock2622]

The RAF wanted to do a landing of Chinnocks at our gliding club en-route to Anglesey. We stopped flying for a whole morning to avoid downward issues....

[@speedbird-777]

Blackhawk in the world of helicopters, is a high capacity heavy chopper. It's impressive PC12 was able to recover after entering its downwash. It goes to show how powerful PT6 turbine engines are and how good PC12 low speed characteristics are(pilot skills as well). But this situation should not have ever allowed to happened. Someone definitely got a good scolding after that.

[@matthewstevenson1267]

13ft of wing flex on an a380 is blowing my mind

[@PilotGrounded]

Why are they even so close?

[@_Bryant.R]

Very sketchy!

[@Malc180s]

Why not? Live and let live.

[@HongyaMa]

You have a death wish? @@Malc180s

[@aiirstrikerz]

@@Malc180swell, i think because it might have been easly turned into a live and let die in this situation dude

[@marspp]

Because American ATC are shite. See things happen a lot that shouldn’t.

[@Donari]

1st clip was pure chaos :D

[@theussmirage]

Microsoft Flight Simulator in real life

[@flyingmyles]

The LATAM pilot asked... how many landings can we get for 1 landing fee haha😅😅

[@johnwilliams3075]

Is it just me or did it look like they were coming in way overspeed too? Could have been the angle but it looked quite hot...

[@flyingmyles]

@@johnwilliams3075 could have been, but there could have been about a million other reasons too

[@Maverickf22flyer]

1. In the case of that 767 I consider that it's the PIO in pitch that caused the increase in total lift when pitching down and the plane got off the ground for a moment when the spoilers were not extended. This bouncing was rather only induced by the pilot alone as there are no updrafts at ground level. Updrafts need some height to have enough intensity to be felt! For who doesn't know, pitching down on non-canard airplanes increases the total lift before the wings AoA starts to decrease and lift start decreasing along with it as well, while pitching up does the opposite and momentarily decreases the total lift before the AoA on the wings starts to increase and have the total lift start increasing as well. There was a famous YF-22 crash video due to a FBW bug and the pilot had difficulties controlling the plane in pitch and crash landed it on the belly on the runway. In that video everyone can see that whenever the plane was pitching up, initially the whole plane would start descending as a whole before getting enough AoA to start climbing and when it pitched down it whole started climbing a bit before the total lift actually started getting lower according to the AoA. 2. The A-330 simply flared too late. There was no rough wind as well. That 737-8 indeed had rough air problems but the pilot didn't use aileron at all, but just a left rudder and very late. He should've used ailerons as needed and not waited and hoped that the plane would re-level by itself without correct intervention. The rudder is the worst input for roll control as it gives the least predictable results with very high latency / inertia!

[@Jaydcoke]

That Latam cargo plane landing was normal. The pilot is Capt Kangaroo, a new guy from Australia... oh wait I just heard he's left Latam and joined Virgin Atlantic...

[@USAMontanan]

Those bouncy landings looked like I was flying

[@andrewrixon2347]

Did the Latam pilot get charged for 6 landings ?

[@AnimalisMD]

Perhaps a former Aerosucre pilot?

[@S1L3NTG4M3R]

These are my fav clips... thanks

[@gcm747]

It still blows me away that up to 560 tons can be ‘hung’ from the wings of an A380.

[@antonygibson_]

I feel like there has been a significant lack of Aerosucre flights in here lately...

[@sh230968]

The talk of the town is that the airline is looking for more adventurous pilots. Some of the existing ones were fired for being too boring after some uneventful takeoffs.

[@JS-wz3km]

This was likely an uncontrolled field. The Pilatus was probably on final for the last 3 to 4 minutes. The helicopter looks like it just departed. I've had this happen flying a 182 w a westland medical heli. They decided to hover taxi along a parallel taxiway while I was rounding out in the flare and almost flipped me over. As much as pilots have technical knowledge, it takes some experience to know not to lift next to a runway when someone is on final and to go around when a heli decides to depart when you are short final.

[@BladeScraper]

2:25 What I find particularly interesting about this clip is watching the wing being forced down when the aileron goes up.

[@DennisBraspenninx]

Easy rigging check during manufacturing and after maintenance, turn the yoke and look out the window, the aileron should come up to meet you.

[@stevenbeach748]

Except any plane bigger than a King Air, you can’t see the ailerons from the cockpit so….

[@jonasbaine3538]

Credit to Pilatus for designing plane with outstanding low speed performance

[@chrisschack9716]

Mind, the stick pusher is required because of stall characteristics.

[@wally7856]

That 1200 HP engine helps a tad.

[@felixthecat3n2]

I was once in a gazelle helicopter and I flew through the dirty air left behind a chinook. There was an almighty bang and every single light on the central warning panel illuminated briefly. To say that it scared the hell out of me doesn’t even come close!

[@chase-gy7zn]

Where’s my 11 more second of aviation gone😢😮

[@jim2lane]

Who the he!! cleared that Sikorsky to cross right in front of the Pilatus on short final? If that was done in controlled airspace then the controller ought to be fired

[@mybestcarcom]

Under-paid Controller shortage and judging by the close proximity to the parked aircraft tarmac the airport was likely uncontrolled so who was either not talking or on the wrong frequency?

[@onebravotango]

Intense aviation moments captured! From challenging landings to incredible aerodynamics, these clips showcase the dynamics and complexities of flight.

[@xuin39]

Had a VHS home video from when I was a kid. There were some museum UH-1 hueys coming in at a really small local airport, and a pilot ignored ATC. Basically hit the wash as he was taking off and wound up with two shattered legs. Ouch. Was mid to late 90's.

[@RobertCraft-re5sf]

That must have been terrifying suddenly falling at such a low altitude.

[@mmusiker]

Ok😢😢😅😅

[@weing]

not to mention the need for a clean pair of shorts.

[@fernandomonaco4692]

No bounces for A330. Nice landing in fact. No problem

[@893R6-w8t]

For real. Can't be a bounce, the front of the bogie never touched.

[@AnimalisMD]

I've been a passenger on Boston landings like that on a few occasions. It's usually a bit scary on calm days because it seems you're going to land in the sea. But on windy days it can be a white-knuckle experience-even for veteran fliers like me!😳😬 That Quantas takeoff was a great example of the physics involved in flight.

[@RickyBancroft]

I used to fly frequently to/from Boston as that's my home town - landed during a nor'easter and was quite the experience

[@dalesmth1]

O’Hare is sketchy af as well.

[@AnimalisMD]

@@dalesmth1 Yeah. Especially when it's windy!

[@AnimalisMD]

😳😬@@RickyBancroft

[@happyjoyjoy6976]

Qantas

[@BrettBaker]

That Latam Cargo pilot was trying hard for the 3 wire.

[@daveskimmer]

Your videos never disappoint. Thanks!

[@thepumpkingking8339]

Except for the Slow Mo...

[@n_tas]

​​@@thepumpkingking8339and being 11 seconds short of 3 minutes! I demand to see a manager

[@thepumpkingking8339]

@@n_tas What.. I was so upset about the Slllooowww Mooo bit . I missed that completely . 🙂 Mind you 2 min's and 49 seconds hasn't got the same ring to it 🙂

[@enigmawyoming5201]

Pilots often fail to realize the difference of air turbulence between propelling a plane forward and maintaining a helicopter vertically up in the air.

[@wally7856]

Yep, a little bit of difference in the thrust requirements.

[@gordslater]

The great thing with a PC12 is that if they have an engine failure they just pull the nose up 70 degrees, beta the prop and enter autorotation for a soft landing :)

[@thomaswest5931]

All hail to Landing Structures Engineers! Amazing durability time after time!

[@kwd-2023]

1:29 I have no idea how the landing gear doesn't just snap off under that imense amount of sideways torquing.

[@iPsOfAcT0]

It's called engineering pal 👍

[@calyodelphi124]

@@iPsOfAcT0 Engineering has its limits, however. When the forces are great enough and the materials properties insufficient, failure will happen. :P

[@36thstreethero]

The wheels on the 737 caster for that reason. To dilute some sideloading.

[@iPsOfAcT0]

@@calyodelphi124 Of course it does, that's how engineering works. The problem and the solution have to be explored and engineered so that all of the limits are known and met, along with safety factors being accounted for

[@2bfrank657]

​@@36thstreetherosuper interesting fact. I had no idea this was a thing, but it makes a whole lot of sense when you think about it.

[@stephenmajor5498]

"Yikes !!!" That's one word that comes up quite often over the last 3 minutes.

[@힐만94]

2:23 yepp this view is my most favourite when the wing starts producing lift and flexes.. the second one is several seconds after v2, when you see the ground starts to move slower, and creates the sense that your plane is like floating mid air... 🥰

[@D.K.-nh1uv]

That first one @0:12 could have been disastrous.

[@theussmirage]

Imagine if that was a student pilot on his/her first solo

[@daszieher]

​@@theussmiragein a PC-12?😂

[@theussmirage]

@@daszieher Hell yeah 😎

[@XLRSAv]

Great video as always. So happy to be one of the clips! Thank la for using it!

[@CatsMeowPaw]

That Fiji landing in Adelaide Australia looked like it was so close to diaster.

[@ryanmcgowan3061]

A UH-60 weighs 22,000 pounds and it's supported 100% by thrust when in hover. The downwash is no joke. I'd rather his 737 wake turbulence than a UH-60 downwash.

[@planemad]

I love watching youre videos keep them coming and the music is great 👊❤️

[@Maniac742]

ATC: Pilatus, report downwash in sight. Pilatus: Roger that we'll... OHHHHHHHHHHH GOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDD!

[@MrTruckerf]

I like how the one plane landed six times on one trip down the runway! That is some good practice.

[@SoloRenegade]

just trying to maintain currency....

[@stevenbeach748]

That’s student pilot level flying

[@ninjalectualx]

All the clips but the last two were actually very dangerous this week 😭

[@Pshady]

Wonder if the Wagner Group Embraer RA 02795 will be in the next video?

[@unbearifiedbear1885]

Doesn't matter where the footage is shot; there's always a British guy going "Oooh!" In the background 😂

[@GregS-01]

** Question.. WHY did you cut that first clip so short? The PC-12 was still struggling to maintain control after he made the poor decision to land behind a Blackhawk but you ended the clip. Please upload the entire video. Thank you.

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

The Fiji Airways footage is gorgeous! Birds tweeting in F sharp while your drunk uncle slowly falls into the BBQ...almost.

[@willswalkingwest7267]

It's only 2 minutes and 45 seconds of aviation. I want my money back. 🤣🤣🤣 Great job as always. 💜

[@fink94]

That first pilot is one hell of a experienced one!

[@PavlosPapageorgiou]

I liked watching the wings slowly bend up, also on the 747

[@robertcieslak1861]

Thank God those wings have deflexion. That's part of the design paramater.

[@sgmj6824]

you owe me 12 seconds of aviation

[@893R6-w8t]

30 seconds if you don't count intro and outro.

[@Fleetwoodjohn]

The virgin 330 did NOT bounce The lower rear tires on the tilted truck grazed the runway on the initial flare.

[@haschid]

Exactly. Maybe the flaring was a little bit agressive, but there was no bouncing.

[@princekamoro3869]

Pilot 1: "I can land at -30 fpm" Pilot 2: "I can land at 0 fpm" Pilot 3: "Hold my beer"

[@ChrisCokeRobinson]

The A330 landing gear was designed so well that it makes even a hard landing look like a butter.

[@DrarslanAbdulsattar]

Yes minus neutral and plus.

[@naknaksdadn572]

Regarding the helicopter down wash? What the heck was that Pilatus pilot thinking? What the heck was the tower thinking for clearing that landing?

[@robertdoyle687]

Liked the birds singing in the Fijian clip 😎

[@smark1180]

Notice that during the LATAM landing the spoilers extend, retract, and extend again.

[@johnfisher7143]

I think the spoilers are armed prior to landing and automatically deploy when the weight on wheels sensor is triggered. With a bounced landing when the weight comes off the wheels they retract in anticipation of a go around.

[@smark1180]

@@johnfisher7143 I wondered that as well.

[@marksommers6764]

Always enjoy , Thanks !

[@blinard1]

This channel should be renamed..."3 minutes of crosswinds on landings"

[@GalacticTommy]

🤣

[@millie8311]

South-American pilots are really just something else🤣🤣always something funny from them

[@karlbark]

Holy *hrist !! That very first clip (with the Pilatus), had me worried about the condition of my underwear ! 😬

[@hrtbrk1]

Clips like the 767 repeat deflections make me realise how much more realistic flight Sim is than I thought.

[@alanjenkins2203]

Surely the aircraft in the first clip should have been further apart? The issues with flying through another aircraft's disturbed air have been know for decades!

[@TheRVSN]

2:00 There is no bouncing. Main landing gear touched by one axis only.

[@70stvtool]

I’m always nervous flying in and out of Logan in Boston. Also I’m still weary of the Max 8. Sorry.

[@edwardkelly6969]

Can I get a refund for the 11 seconds of aviation I didn't get? Edit: This is a JOKE on this channel. Some people apparently have zero sense of humor.

[@francoisdvanderwesthuizen]

With all the pause and rewinding I did with the first video I had a 4.37 minute video...

[@Cool07R6SRider]

Typical comment of a 12 year old on this channel

[@edwardkelly6969]

@stanb340 Nice try bud, but I'm not even close to 12. It's a running joke.

[@the_astraios]

Last four videos have been over 3 minutes so in fairness, we owe the channel some seconds

[@Cool07R6SRider]

@@edwardkelly6969 So, what you're saying is: You're not a child but you act like a child? This doesn't make you look any better lol

[@markcardwell]

Lots of educational footage on this one

[@swanvictor887]

that LATAM 767 was ...interesting to say the least! Wonder what was up in the cockpit?

[@AutarchKade]

It's wild how there are groups of people standing around just watching planes land.

[@wally7856]

Watching birds fly has been a human pastime for tens of thousands of years. Never gets old.

[@wadehiggins1114]

That Virgin A330 had the smoothest hard landing

[@tomstamford6837]

For some reason watching the Latam Cargo trying to set down, I thought I could hear an excited voice going, "Weeeeee..... Weeeeeeee... Weeeeeeeeeeeee!"

[@FaithM-M]

All of these clips is literally me trying to land in any flight simulator 🥲

[@JohnSmithShields]

Ryanair would never hire the pilot of that 767-300. The landing was too smooth.

[@AnimalisMD]

True but Aerosucre might.

[@earlwheelock7844]

Thats called a genuine BOING LANDING YOU KNOW BOING, BOING, BOING!!!!!!!

[@Vicstarz26]

I love the Fiji Airways livery 😍

[@joalmeria891]

No one gonna talk about the Cessna with its nose on the ground in the first clip?

[@misszetec]

That Latam should have been a go around, geez!

[@23ofSeptember]

I've noticed cargo jets have trouble landing, even crashing sometimes. Do they often hire young inexperienced pilots to fly them?

[@keepcalmandenjoythedecline]

Unbelievable that in 2023 helicopters still spin their blades in the same direction producing downwash. 🤯

[@Merci4mercy]

Ayo that first one is Isla Grande airport! Never thought I’d see my home airport here. Too bad it was under these circumstances.

[@daszieher]

If you want to ensure many bounces, press on the controls. If you want to limit the number of bounces, keep the pitch strady and slowly pull the power. Itll take a while but in the end still less than if you force the plane onto the ground with power still in.

[@daszieher]

@@Dbentzjralthough I have experience with aircraft with air brakes, they are "only" gliders. You naturally always come in "too hot" and burn away your safety margin on final.

[@daszieher]

@@Dbentzjrmy initial comment reflected the learnings from several instructors, who provided practical assistance in countering a bounce. Rule N°1: don't ever EVER push the aircraft onto the ground when it is still flying. This rule applies always, regardless of flap or power setting. This is even more important than the softness of a landing. the softest landings can be dangerous, because the aircraft is technically still capable of flight. a more "firm" reconnection with planet earth, when the aircraft stops flying (even in ground effect) is preferable, the chances of it bouncing will be much lower, even on uneven runways.

[@Posark]

0:27 “whoa!” - cameraman narrowly averted missing the entire incident

[@justana3507]

Yay my home town Adelaide is mentioned!

[@barrybecker3706]

Love this channel!!!

[@davidbenedetto2091]

Wouldn't an experienced pilot know better than to follow so closely to a chopper?

[@jonasbaine3538]

LATAM is the next AEROSUCRE. They flew through a thunderstorm and destroyed radar nose.

[@jdsnowboy]

I bet that lawyer or doctor riding in the back of the PC12 was ticked. 😅

[@cherrylove3656]

this is why I don't trust aircraft. any second can be your last 🤣

[@brians6749]

I bought a canon laser color printer and haven’t looked back. Sure it’s huge, but the toner is cheap and it doesn’t dry out.

[@flyboy98]

We have a pilot training crisis....high prevalence of newly minted pilots with limited experience due to the pilot shortage.

[@captainfantastic6840]

How are new pilots supposed to become experienced pilots on type if they aren’t flying said type?

[@bodkillinator]

By definition a new pilot will have limited experience! It's kind of hard to jump into the cockpit of a commercial airliner and have thousands of hours of experience without building that knowledge at a start point in their career. A couple of rough landings in poor conditions is not an indication of a crisis, the video wouldn't be as entertaining if it was just smooth lands and takeoff (well.....maybe it would be)

[@kenw772]

I was a victim of a terrible accident because of helicopter rotor downwash. The FAA actually reacted the accident because they did not understand what happened. My accident was back in 1985 of June. A three rule was established as a result of the accident. The FAA is not teaching enough on this. The controller certainly allowed the single engine to close.

[@forgottenchild7935]

Never knew helicopters caused that type of airflow disruption behind them...that was crazy

[@chrisschack9716]

They beat physics into submission, and the wake they leave reflects that.

[@wally7856]

Once they push all the air down it has to go somewhere.

[@superflyer991]

The first clip can be a really useful meme format.

[@juanrodriguezjr451]

That Fiji landing 😳😳😳

[@Doss1911]

In reference to the VA A330, claiming a hard landing… The leading set of tires didn’t even touch the runway. It was a controlled turbulent landing lol.

[@crux1on]

That virgin atlantic almost recreated the finsl push

[@kleetus92]

Call me crazy, but 13 feet of wing deflection on a regular basis just sounds like a recipe for a metal fatigue disaster.

[@fhuber7507]

There have been a few other RECENT incidents of fixed wing aircraft hitting heli downwash on the runway and most tore up the airplanes. Just consider any heli to be causing more turbulence than a fixed wing of a few times its gross weight and that effect will last much longer. Space more than if following a heavy.