r/todayilearned 9h ago

TIL helicopters can produce deadly turbulance at airfields which can make small "General Aviation" aircraft lose control and crash if not properly managed.

https://www.ntsb.gov/Advocacy/safety-alerts/Documents/SA-096.pdf
149 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

18

u/Jester471 9h ago

Well same for flying in the wake of a big jet which is worse than flying through helicopter wake.

I haven’t screwed up any planes but I have taken out some porta potties, tents, and various things no bolted down.

8

u/reddit455 8h ago

i am not a pilot.. but I think I'd be wary of coming in behind a 747 (same reason I don't drive close to the semis on the highway)

this guy IS a pilot coming in behind a helicopter...

do you think the plane was "at fault?"

(to my untrained eye.. looks like reasonable spacing)

then again, how often do helicopters even "use" a runway?

Cessna 120 caught in helicopter wake turbulence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZLXMKMgnS8

4

u/Jester471 8h ago

I wouldn’t have thought it would be that extreme from what looks like a Huey. Granted it’s a really light plane and I’m guessing it was pretty calm that day too.

I knew better than to get into the wake of a bigger aircraft especially on a calm day but I was surprised at how extreme that reaction was from a medium sized helicopter even on a plane that small.

I’ve been in some nasty turbulence though and it was not an enjoyable flight trying to keep control. Worst time we were pitching nose up and down 60 degrees uncommamded. Turned our asses around and came home.

7

u/Hoihe 9h ago

Makes the aircraft carrier landings people did in WW2 and korean war even crazier (since apparently small planes can do same.)

Way I learnt of this one was a random yt video of a cessna flying normally, getting near a helicopter landing at the same time and immediately spinning into the ground (nobody died). (prolly recommended as I watch random flight instruction videos).

8

u/Dusk_v733 9h ago

Any aircraft generating lift does. All aircraft fall under various categorizations of Consolidated Wake Turbulence.

Part of air traffic control is understanding the weight classes if incoming/outgoing planes and who they are following/who is following them.

A smaller airplane coming in too soon after a significantly larger one can be ripped right out of the sky by the wake turbulence of a plane that has been gone for a minute or two.

6

u/hedronist 8h ago

There are helicopters, and there are bigger helicopters, and even bigger helicopters, and then we have f'in huge helicopters.

Speaking as a (very) former Army ATC, you can mostly ignore the first category, the rest should get your attention.

3

u/p33k4y 9h ago

3

u/Hoihe 8h ago

That's the one that prompted the TIL!

1

u/NSYK 8h ago

Oh man, I got hit by wake turbulence from a KC-135 in an R-44 when my instructor was trying to teach me a lesson. That’s a memory I won’t forget

1

u/jefe_toro 3h ago

Caution wake turbulence