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The Rest In Peace thread: Joe Flaherty, April 1, 2024


StrandedonEarth

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  • 2 weeks later...

Breaking news: Kobe Bryant! https://www.abc15.com/sports/small-stars/tmz-kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash

Doesn't seem to be a lot of confirmation out there. I'll wait for more info before updating the thread title...

Confirmed... ;.;

Edited by StrandedonEarth
confirmed
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20 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Breaking news: Kobe Bryant? https://www.abc15.com/sports/small-stars/tmz-kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash

Doesn't seem to be a lot of confirmation out there. I'll wait for more info before updating the thread title...

That has been confirmed:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/26/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash/?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_kobe-310pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

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1 hour ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Breaking news: Kobe Bryant! https://www.abc15.com/sports/small-stars/tmz-kobe-bryant-dead-in-helicopter-crash

Doesn't seem to be a lot of confirmation out there. I'll wait for more info before updating the thread title...

Confirmed... ;.;

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2020/01/26/reports--kobe-bryant-dead-in-calabasas-helicopter-crash

Yeah... Damn  :(

Edited by Just Jim
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Yeah, sad, and so very pointless given one of the principal advantages of a helo is that you can land almost anywhere if there is trouble. The weather was IFR, they were following highways, then it turns and climbs the wrong way (he's doing a 180, probably) after the pilot sees he's running out of VFR at any acceptable alt, then rapidly dropping alt. Disoriented? Wonder if the pilot was IFR rated. Getthereitis, all to avoid having to sit in a limo, instead. It'll be better if it turns out to be a mechanical problem, but it would be rough for the families to find out it was pilot error.

Edited by tater
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On 1/27/2020 at 2:02 PM, tater said:

Wonder if the pilot was IFR rated

Sounds like this was an FAR Part 135 (Charter) operation in which case the pilot would have been mandated to be IFR-rated and current.  The transition from "scud-running" to IFR is not easy when unprepared (no flight plan on file) and (not a helo pilot) but pilots are unable to hover stably on instruments (without visual references) unless the machine has been fitted with auto-hover equipment.

Nevertheless, maintaining ground "contact" should be easier in a rotary by descending as necessary.  Problem for the pilot's decision-making then is maintaining the 500' above structures requirement, but let's face it: Confess-Communicate-Comply -- ATC are only too happy to assist a pilot in trouble.

Update: well I viewed the video (thank you) and it does state that the flight/company was "VFR-only" -- probably to save money on currency training.  The pilot was an Instrument Instructor but maybe not keeping current.

Edited by Hotel26
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2 minutes ago, Hotel26 said:

Sounds like this was an FAR Part 135 (Charter) operation in which case the pilot would have been mandated to be IFR-rated and current.  The transition from "scud-running" to IFR is not easy when unprepared (no flight plan on file) and (not a helo pilot) but pilots are unable to hover stably on instruments (without visual references) unless the machine has been fitted with auto-hover equipment.

The guy in the vid I just posted is an EMT helo driver, and he basically said if you are not flying IFR all the time, being rated doesn't matter much, you lack the skills because you don't use them.

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45 minutes ago, tater said:

you lack the skills because you don't use them

Probably true and I would never counter-say a practicing helicopter pilot on the subject.

Being "current" in IFR means being certified as having practiced several approaches per month.  In persistent clear weather, this is performed in the company of a safety pilot and the pilot-in-command dons a plastic hood to shut out the view outside and compel him or her to focus on the instruments alone.  The safety pilot signs a cert in the pilot's log book after the flight.  In addition, helo drivers have to practice an auto-rotation on a schedule as well.  For the same reason, Multi-Engine Licensed pilots routinely practice single-engine (one engine idled) approaches to remain current.  Let's just say that you can never be "too current".

I think the issue is probably more one about the criticality of judgment in scud-running.  If charter companies were more inclined to make use of bad weather to go safe, IFR, into the clouds, they could ensure their pilots stayed right on their game.

These are always sad events, whatever the circumstances.

Edited by Hotel26
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3 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

These are always sad events, whatever the circumstances.

Agreed. Watch the video, it's actually a really interesting conversation, and particularly interesting given the guy's expertise. The company that owns the helos only flies VFR, so his observation was that he doubted the guy was current, since when would he have the time as their principal pilot, flying for a company not certified for IFR flying.

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43 minutes ago, tater said:

Can't argue with that run.

LA30.jpg

(image from Lonely are the Brave taken literally within a few hundred meters of where I sit right now)

Yeah... I just saw. I thought he was indestructible  :(
RIP, sir.. you will be missed.

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Now that is a loooooong resume....

Spoiler
Actor (95 credits)
 2008Empire State Building Murders (TV Movie)
Jim Kovalski
 2004Illusion
Donald Baines
 2003It Runs in the Family
Mitchell Gromberg
 2000Touched by an Angel (TV Series)
Ross Burger
- Bar Mitzvah (2000) ... Ross Burger
 1999Diamonds
Harry Agensky
 1996The Simpsons (TV Series)
Chester J. Lampwick
- The Day the Violence Died (1996) ... Chester J. Lampwick (voice)
 1995Don Henley: The Garden of Allah (Video short)
The Devil
 1994Take Me Home Again (TV Movie)
Ed Reece
 1994Greedy
Uncle Joe
 1992The Secret (TV Movie)
Grandpa Mike Dunmore
 1991Tales from the Crypt (TV Series)
General Kalthrob
- Yellow (1991) ... General Kalthrob
 1991Welcome to Veraz
Quentin
 1991Oscar
Eduardo Provolone
 1988Inherit the Wind (TV Movie)
Matthew Harrison Brady
 1987Queenie (TV Mini-Series)
David Konig
- Episode #1.2 (1987) ... David Konig
- Episode #1.1 (1987) ... David Konig (credit only)
 1986Tough Guys
Archie Long
 1985Amos (TV Movie)
Amos Lasher
 1984Draw! (TV Movie)
Harry H. Holland aka Handsome Harry Holland
 1983Eddie Macon's Run
Carl 'Buster' Marzack
 1982Remembrance of Love (TV Movie)
Joe Rabin
 1982The Man from Snowy River
Harrison / Spur
 1980The Final Countdown
Capt. Matthew Yelland
 1980Saturn 3
Adam
 1979Home Movies
Dr. Tuttle 'The Maestro'
 1979The Villain
Cactus Jack
 1978The Fury
Peter
 1977The Chosen
Robert Caine
 1976Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers (TV Mini-Series)
Alex Vandervoort
- Part IV (1976) ... Alex Vandervoort
- Part III (1976) ... Alex Vandervoort
- Part II (1976) ... Alex Vandervoort
- Part I (1976) ... Alex Vandervoort
 1976Victory at Entebbe (TV Movie)
Hershel Vilnofsky
 1975Once Is Not Enough
Mike Wayne
 1975Posse
Howard Nightingale
 1974Mousey (TV Movie)
George Anderson
 1973Scalawag
Peg
 1973Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (TV Movie)
Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
 1972The Master Touch
Steve Wallace
 1972The Special London Bridge Special (TV Movie)
The Indian Fighter
 1971Catch Me a Spy
Andrej
 1971A Gunfight
Will Tenneray
 1970There Was a Crooked Man...
Paris Pitman, Jr.
 1969The Arrangement
Eddie Anderson
 1968The Brotherhood
Frank Ginetta
 1968The Legend of Silent Night (TV Movie)
Narrator
 1968Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series)
Guest Performer
- Episode #2.5 (1968) ... Guest Performer (uncredited)
- Episode #2.4 (1968) ... Guest Performer (uncredited)
 1968A Lovely Way to Die
Jim Schuyler
 1967The War Wagon
Lomax
 1967The Way West
Senator William J. Tadlock
 1966Is Paris Burning?
Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
 1966Cast a Giant Shadow
Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus
 1966The Lucy Show (TV Series)
Kirk Douglas
- Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere (1966) ... Kirk Douglas
 1965In Harm's Way
Eddington
 1964Seven Days in May
Col. Martin 'Jiggs' Casey
 1963For Love or Money
Deke Gentry
 1963The List of Adrian Messenger
George Brougham / Vicar Atlee / Mr. Pythian / ...
 1963The Hook
Sgt. P.J. Briscoe
 1962Two Weeks in Another Town
Jack Andrus
 1962Lonely Are the Brave
John W. "Jack" Burns
 1961The Last Sunset
Brendan 'Bren' O'Malley
 1961Town Without Pity
Maj. Steve Garrett
 1960Spartacus
Spartacus
 1960Strangers When We Meet
Larry Coe
 1959Operation Petticoat
Welding Seaman (uncredited)
 1959The Devil's Disciple
Richard Dudgeon
 1959Last Train from Gun Hill
Marshal Matt Morgan
 1958The Vikings
Einar
 1957Paths of Glory
Col. Dax
 1957Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Doc Holliday
 1957Top Secret Affair
Maj. Gen. Melville A. Goodwin
 1956Lust for Life
Vincent Van Gogh
 1955The Indian Fighter
Johnny Hawks
 1955Man Without a Star
Dempsey Rae
 1955The Racers
Gino Borgesa
 1954The Jack Benny Program (TV Series)
Kirk
- The Jam Session Show (1954) ... Kirk
 1954Ulysses
Ulysses
 1953Act of Love
Robert Teller
 1953The Juggler
Hans Muller
 1953The Story of Three Loves
Pierre Narval (segment "Equilibrium")
 1952The Bad and the Beautiful
Jonathan
 1952The Big Sky
Jim Deakins
 1952The Big Trees
Jim Fallon
 1951Detective Story
Det. James McLeod
 1951Ace in the Hole
Chuck Tatum
 1951Along the Great Divide
Marshal Len Merrick
 1950The Glass Menagerie
Jim O'Connor
 1950Young Man with a Horn
Rick Martin
 1949Champion
Midge
 1949A Letter to Three Wives
George Phipps
 1948My Dear Secretary
Owen Waterbury
 1948The Walls of Jericho
Tucker Wedge
 1947I Walk Alone
Noll 'Dink' Turner
 1947Out of the Past
Whit
 1947Mourning Becomes Electra
Peter Niles
 1946The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Walter O'Neil
Show ShowProducer (32 credits)
Show ShowSoundtrack (17 credits)
Show ShowDirector (2 credits)
Show ShowWriter (2 credits)
Show Show

I know movie-making was simpler way back when talkies were new, but it's amazing how he was cranking out 2-3 movies a year most years. Probably not all leading roles, but still, that pace goes for three decades!

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