Two Scary Tails

One of a helicopter pilot’s biggest worries is losing a tail rotor. It’s happened to me twice and I wasn’t injured either time. So with a bit of luck and skill, it can be coped with.

The first occasion was back in August 1997. I was sitting in the left hand seat of a Twin Squirrel, while a very good friend of mine, Paul Moran, was flying. I actually asked him that day, “Paul, I sometimes get asked if I’ve ever had an accident and I say no. You’ve had a mid-air collision, what do you say?” He replied “I always say I’m the safest pilot to fly with, as the chances of another mid air are millions to one.”

Hours later, at 2000 feet near Leeds, a Katana light aircraft chopped off our tail, vertical fin and tail rotor complete...