Helicopter crash when landing on Trinity yacht "Bacarella"

You are right Ken, the cover was delivered by a sailmaker two days prior to the incident...

By watching the youtube video of the crash, I have some problems with Mr. Quentin Smith giving the hero. You see the foreign object blown up / sucked into the main rotor, scattered in pieces, the helo pitching up violently, followed by a violent yaw of more than 180 degree, then turning over and crashing / ditching with the rotor blades first. Besides his (may be) correct movement away from the ship, I can not see anything other than a totally out of control situation. He and his passengers were just lucky to escape and still being alive. And rescuing his passenger or at least aiding in it was his damned duty and obligation as the PIC. Btw. it is the second helo he ditched. Both cases initially not his fault but ..............

And I say again, a beefy Bell 407 / 429 would have most likely survived that accident, if only with a controlled upright landing on the water with deployed pop out floats.

"There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots" E. Hamilton Lee, 1949

I hate choppers anywhere near boats, dreadful things.

This is my mate being slung in to Cloudbreak.

https://www.facebook.com/kiwimax/videos/vb.599939514/10154897848644515/?type=3&theater

I never liked photo shoots with a Helo, especially when they come in for the close-up on an open bride boat and you can practically toss them a Soda can from the helm. Too unnerving for me, always breath a sigh of relief when the photo shoot is done and they clear out.

They are not accident free, we just had one that was out of control smash a glass panel in the aft railings

Yeah, but a hell of a lot less deadly. A lot of professional boat photographers are using drones now instead of helicopters. I've done several video's for manufacturers and drones were used.

A glass panel is substantially less costly to replace than if a similar accident happened with a helo.

Interestingly, we carry a helicopter aboard but the boss has banned drones. The logic being that the helicopter pilot is trained, licensed, and insured. Drones are sold to anyone.

Yes, I agree. A cool 4K drone with a skilled operator is a great modern day development.
I was still a stdent back in 1989 and managed to get a pass to one of those cool Fisher Island events during the Miami Boat Show. The reward was a press ride on the first 72' Bertram out of Government Cut. Short, steep and choppy. A press Helo comes by and maneuvers to within 15 - 20 feet off the enclosed bridge hardtop. Eventually we hear and feel a loud bang, and wonder wtf? Turns out the not so smooth 72 Bertram ride caused the Radar antennae bolts to shear and it was flopping on the hardtop attached by its cables. Glad it was only the Radar!

By watching all available videos of the crash again, even frame by frame, IMHO Mr. Q has NO reason to give the hero for handling the emergency and his action after the crash. I give him credit for his active defence to safe his image and maybe his pilot licence but it looks to me that he developed a vortex situation on the main rotor due to his pretty aggressive approach towards the ship when he had to stop his forward vector, the canvas was sucked up by the vortex along the super structure of the upper deck around the rotor and then sucked into the rotor from above. This either damaged the rotor blades / steering mechanism or stalled the rotor partially and the chopper went totally out of control. He may have initiated an intial maneuver away from the ship but him saying, he placed the helicopter deliberately on its side in the water is laughable. During the violent pitch up, he became a passenger of that helo.

Landing a helicopter after a long range flight on an unknown ship with heavy mass (he refuelled prior landing on the ship) during twilight is lets say, pretty risky. He proofed it.

As soon as the CAA will get hold of the ships onboard video, his heroism will end.