Helicopter Tour Dangers
- June 24, 2009
- Rated 1 of 5 by
donetella from jojoba, California
the scenery is beautiful, but some people who have booked helicopter tours as part of a pre-booked travel package have been quite surprised to spend about five hours in a bus, only to spend twenty minutes in the air. Look at a map carefully, and or research the distance required to get to your tour.
2. You might be flying in equipment that is twenty or thirty years old, and may be rental machines, not owned by the tour company.
the likelihood of having certified maintenance staff on location is less. This means that you may end up flying in machines that are checked out and decisions made whether to fly or not, by a profit driven owner, rather than a qualified mechanic.
4. On the topic of pilot, you will more than likely be flying with "tour" pilots, those being usually very young and less experienced. In fact your flight could actually be flown by a brand new pilot who is flying his or her very first ever commercial flight. You will never know this. Some tour companies seek out brand new pilots, fresh out of flight school, never having flown a single passenger for hire before. In the mountains. At 9000 feet.
5.
6. The tour operator hires the brand new pilot, who will do nearly anything in the world to fly, and to acquire more hours. The 100 hour pilot will not only fly some tours from A to B, but will cook, clean, shovel, rake, and wash the toilets for more than half of each 24 hour day. All for the opportunity just to sit in a helicopter and fly a few flights each day. This may be your tour pilot.
7. The tour operator, if he or she wishes, can take advantage of the inexperience, the youth, and the desperation of these young pilots, to get them do just about anything. It can (and does) become a "sweat shop" for young pilots.
8. So your beautiful flight of a lifetime, is likely to be flown in a helicopter two or three decades old, which is possibly rented, which may be without an on site mechanic or engineer. Flown by a pilot with not enough hours to work at a "non tour" helicopter operation. Flown in mountain conditions in high winds, at high altitudes, and a speeds which contribute to a fast turnover or customers.
9. Putting aside the fact that those twenty to thirty year old machines, will have less seating room. Will not have modern safety features found on newer machines. One of the passengers will be jammed into a middle seat, which is not suitable for persons much larger than a child. Your view and your comfort will be compromised. You will have no choice in which seat you are offered, nor will your flight be discounted if you have the misfortune of getting the middle seat.
10. Finally, something that was observed, was a tendency to rush. Making sure that your experience of entering and exiting the helicopter was as hurried and as frantic as could be. Your bum is something to get in, get up, get down and get gone. It does not always translate into satisfied vacationers when one considers the hundreds or thousands of dollars spent to pay for the flight.
11. Fog, visibility, rain, snow, dangerous mountain winds, are all safety factors which must be taken into account. Combine mountain weather, thin air at elevation, with a brand new or rookie pilot, and an event which is often desperately rushed. Mountain winds at 9000 feet have been known to hit a helicopter hard enough to cause the pilot to smash his head against the steel door frame of the helicopter. You may find yourself flying higher than you imagined, being hit harder that you have ever ben hit with mountain winds and gusts, and flying with one of the newest pilots employed in Canada. Fly informed.
12. In my opinion, safety would be far higher in a newer, more modern helicopter, flown by more experienced pilots, working for established tour operators in a safer location. Like Hawaii, to give one example. Sea level safety, lots of places to land. Less wind and turbulence. Lots of skill at the controls.
The above travel review is from those currently working inside the tourism and travel industry, who choose to remain anonymous. Each has made a study of tour operators encountered, flown with, and drank a few beer with the staff of various operators, and learned of a few eye opening stories. It is hoped that your vacation is as enjoyable, as safe and as satisfying as you imagine.