The Captain wrote:Take this as from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, because I actually know what I am talking about, in a general sense.
1. Yes, even a big helicopter can sneak up on you if it is coming from behind you at some speed. You can't blame the kiter for not knowing it was there.
Never heard such bullshit.
A Sea King Chopper weighs over 13,000 lbs, has 2 × General Electric T58-10 turboshafts, 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) each, about 75 feet long.
The f@#king rotor has 5 blades and is 65 feet in diameter.
3,000 HP of truboshaft engines carrying a mass of over 13,000 lbs can't sneak up on you unless your head is up your ass.
A few months ago one landed at our local spot to evac a wounded kiter. You could hear the monster from a mile away. When it was close enough for us to feel even the slightest effect of the rotors on the air the noise was crazy. The ambulance staff could not hear me even though I was yelling about 3 feet away.
This whole discussion is ridiculous.
It's as clear as day that the injured kiter is to blame period. Jumping in shallow water showing off.
probably just crashed by himself and prefers to try to blame someone else rather than admit his own mistake and bad behavior.