HK SCMP: Model aircraft injures operator

[kiratime]

tell tht to al szabo he fly his aurora right infront if his face

sry i meant tell tht to alan szabo he fly his aurora right infront of his face

[helirulz]

Hard to believe this guy had 10 years experience. Just goes to show what some idiots are capable of. They are just asking for trouble....

When I used to fly full scale aircraft, the most important thing was safety. No matter how experienced one can be you have to follow the fundimental rules. Keep clear from spinning props, jet intakes and exhausts. Make sure all machanics are functioning within limits and dont fly if you suspect something is amiss.

Something to remember when flying 3D. You may be a good pilot but you cant predict machanical failure or electrical interference so always fly a safe distance from crowds

you make it sound like they intentionally did it
Lets face it, accidents(NOT mechanical/electronic failures) happen, and there's no way you can stop accidents from occuring.

[LouisLLH]

Sad to see this incident happened.
May i wish everyone have a safety flights.

[Ivan M]

HK SCMP: Model plane fans ignored ban for years, says park

Model plane fans ignored ban for years, says park

Kelly Chan and Agnes Lam
Jan 15, 2008


Model aircraft enthusiasts have been defying a ban on using the area in Tseung Kwan O where a man was seriously injured by a radio-controlled helicopter at the weekend for years, according to Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, which owns the site.
Notices were posted five years ago to inform the public not to enter the land at Chun Wang Road, the government corporation said yesterday.

On Sunday, a helicopter hit Law Kwok-wah, 44, while he was flying model aircraft with friends. He was operated on at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and was still in critical condition last night.

"Notices are posted at our vacant site to warn people not to enter the site without authorisation. But there is no security fence around the site," the corporation said.

"We will ask people to leave our site if we ... think the activities they are carrying out would affect normal operation of the industrial estate," it said, adding that it would seek help from police if trespassers refused to leave.

The chief safety officer of the Civil Aviation Department, Cheung Sau-tak, told a radio programme yesterday model enthusiasts could fly aircraft on an open area in Yuen Long.

"The site is in Tai Tong and it is very spacious," he said.

The department reviewed regulations covering model aircraft from time to time, he said. Asked if anyone would be prosecuted over Sunday's accident, the department said it was still investigating.

Radio Control Soaring Society chairman Kenny Ma said that apart from concerns about suitable venues, flyers' safety also depended on proper use of radio frequencies. They had developed a system to avoid frequency conflicts.

"A piece of paper is posted at a venue where flyers gather and each of them writes down the frequency he is using and his contact number. Latecomers check the list so that frequency jams can be avoided," he said.

"A latecomer can also call up those who are on the list to check and work out timeslots so they can share use of the same frequency."

It was dangerous if a newcomer to the pastime did not know about the system and just started flying.

"When the same frequency is being used by two users, then it might cause danger to players. The worst scenario is if a player loses control of a plane and it crashes and hits others standing on the ground," he said.

A spokeswoman for the telecoms watchdog Ofta said 50 frequencies had been allocated for users of radio-controlled equipment.

[Ghostfit]

you make it sound like they intentionally did it
Lets face it, accidents(NOT mechanical/electronic failures) happen, and there's no way you can stop accidents from occuring.

I'm sorry bro, but thats where you are wrong !

I don't think you've heard of risk management or RAMS (Airforce)
If you study and examine closely what you are doing and identify all the dangers, break them down into their respective hazard level, you should be able to significantly reduce the accidents down even to zero.

Accidents investigators don't want to look at the accidents itself, it has already happened. They want to find out exactly what happened before the accident and usually they find a trail of minor incidents which leads up to the big accident (Swiss Cheeze analogy - If all the holes are not align, you can't see thru but when they all aligns, the light passes thru and BLAM !)

Looking at this incident, we can see so many holes !
1) Why was he standing so close to the Heli ?
2) How did he accidentally hit the switch ? (Idle up I presume, in which case the heli should have been forced to the ground and not up at him)
3) Was the wind blowing the heli at him or away from him ?
4) Was there proper and effective frequency control ?
5) Was there proper demarcated zones where the heli should be operated.

If any one of those points were observed, maybe the accidents would have been avoided !

Now for the chilling reminder ! ...The next time you go for your FF at your favourite FF location, ask yourself these questions !

[viperviper]

here is the news video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn39HmoQRf4

Safety comes first.

[Cessna584]

Safety Feature

Under risk management, it is always safe to bring along a 1.5m stick beside you when you fly nitro aeroplane or heli. In case, they go "berserk" due to unforseen circumstances, self destruction is the only way. I always practise that...

[Ivan M]

Looking at this incident, we can see so many holes !
1) Why was he standing so close to the Heli ?
2) How did he accidentally hit the switch ? (Idle up I presume, in which case the heli should have been forced to the ground and not up at him)
3) Was the wind blowing the heli at him or away from him ?
4) Was there proper and effective frequency control ?
5) Was there proper demarcated zones where the heli should be operated.

!

Not forgetting, THROTTLE HOLD when passing around the TX...

[zattan22]

1.5m stick????????
never heard of it....
i bet you may need a chain saw for a 90 size heli...

[mave]

I totally second what Ghostfit has said. Accident can be prevented and if it did happen, we could traced the root cause and prevent it from happening in the future.

For example, you may be tempted to smoke while refilling your gas heli, that doesn't mean it is safe to do so. It is just that the condition is not riped for an accident to happen yet. Don't bet on luck when you are handling petrol on your RC models.

I'm sorry bro, but thats where you are wrong !

I don't think you've heard of risk management or RAMS (Airforce)
If you study and examine closely what you are doing and identify all the dangers, break them down into their respective hazard level, you should be able to significantly reduce the accidents down even to zero.

Accidents investigators don't want to look at the accidents itself, it has already happened. They want to find out exactly what happened before the accident and usually they find a trail of minor incidents which leads up to the big accident (Swiss Cheeze analogy - If all the holes are not align, you can't see thru but when they all aligns, the light passes thru and BLAM !)

Looking at this incident, we can see so many holes !
1) Why was he standing so close to the Heli ?
2) How did he accidentally hit the switch ? (Idle up I presume, in which case the heli should have been forced to the ground and not up at him)
3) Was the wind blowing the heli at him or away from him ?
4) Was there proper and effective frequency control ?
5) Was there proper demarcated zones where the heli should be operated.

If any one of those points were observed, maybe the accidents would have been avoided !

Now for the chilling reminder ! ...The next time you go for your FF at your favourite FF location, ask yourself these questions !

[zattan22]

safety is something you can not buy.......
whenever i fly my heli...... i always comes up with buddy system....
the buddy will watch around for people....
sometimes.... spec will come nearer and nearer to the aircrafts.....

and to all flyers...... dun bring your kids or wife to FF......

[HotDogBun]

Aiyah, won't happen in SG one lah. I'm a responsible flyer. (goes about showing off his little toy and doing dangerous stunts)
^
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It always takes death to make minds clear.I hope the death belongs to the irresponsible party or his immediate family, and leave innocent others out.

[Ivan M]

Aiyah, won't happen in SG one lah. I'm a responsible flyer. (goes about showing off his little toy and doing dangerous stunts)
^
|
|
It always takes death to make minds clear.I hope the death belongs to the irresponsible party or his immediate family, and leave innocent others out.

I don't see why the death should belong to his immediate family.
We should be encouraging safety flying and not cursing at those causing danger...

[HotDogBun]

Got too carried away. I'm very wicked on this. My apologies.

[Sunstorm]

Read this in New Paper today, looks pretty bad.