• Zron@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      The taliban took over a lot of American equipment when the pull out happened.

      When the Military abandons equipment, they often sabotage it in some way so that it’s not useful to the enemy force.

      Likely this helicopter had its tail rotor fucked with. It would have started and taken off okay in calm weather, but the moment the pilot attempted any kind of rotation, or got hit by a strong gust of wind, he was doomed.

      This may have been the best pilot in the world, but once you’re in an out of control helicopter, there’s very little even the best pilot can do. It’s like if the stabilizer fell off a plane, there’s just not much you can do.

      • Red_October@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        If the tail rotor was fucked with they wouldn’t have gotten that far off the ground. They would have started to spin as soon as their weight started to come off the ground, you have to be actively on the pedals at all times, not just when turning.

        This was pilot error all the way.

      • TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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        10 days ago

        I know this is a joke, but helicopters don’t have ejection seats. If they did, they would just eject the pilot into the rotors and turn them into confetti.

        • JordanZ@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          They exist…just uncommon.

          The Kamov Ka-50, which entered limited service with Russian forces in 1995, was the first production helicopter with an ejection seat. The system is similar to that of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft; however the main rotors are equipped with explosive bolts to jettison the blades moments before the seat is fired.

          • TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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            10 days ago

            Crazy! I had no idea these existed. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

            I just remember an old airforce pilot telling me that he thought helicopter pilots had more balls than jet pilots, because if something goes wrong, helicopter pilots gotta go down with the ship. So, I figured that they didn’t exist at all.