| Not long ago I was watching the air field waiting for a flight and happened to see my own flight abort a landing due to what appeared to be fairly reckless antics by SAR helicopter crews in training. I watched the loaded passenger jet swerve, climb and go to full throttle on a landing approach to avoid a helicopter ascending into the approach. It was a very close call and I was shocked at how routinely the situation was treated by everyone involved. The flight delay was half an hour. It was not reported in the news, but I was able to find official documentation of the incident. A few weeks later one of the helicopter crews wrecked there. That made it to the news, but I'm still a bit in disbelief that the ostensibly safety regulatory apparatus is this dysfunctional. It's only pure chance that the recklessness of the helicopters operating there only got themselves killed. I don't understand why the maneuvers were allowed at all at a passenger airport, nevermind with a passenger jet on final approach, or why they were allowed to continue after near misses until a fatal crash occurred. The ultimate outcome was entirely preventable, but the regulators were completely asleep at the wheel. |