A Brief History
On August 31, 2019, a sightseeing tourist helicopter crashed in Norway, killing the pilot and all five passengers. Sadly, the thrill of taking a helicopter tour of Hawaii, The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, New York City, Hoover Dam, and any of a number of tourist sites is often marred by a jarring crash that too often kills the occupants of the chopper.
Digging Deeper
The military are not strangers to massive use of helicopters, and during the Vietnam War, the US lost 5,607 of their military whirlybirds. While helicopters are useful for troop and gear transport, medevac, scouting, and attack, flying the rotary wing machines in combat is risky. In 2002, the Russian military lost at least 74 soldiers when Chechen rebels shot down a large helicopter near Grozny.
Famous civilians have died in helicopter crashes, including Kobe Bryant, Cold War celebrity Gary Powers, rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan, and race car driver Davey Allison among them.
Note: Major Dan has flown over 100 times in helicopters and Dr. Zar has made some tourist flights.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever flown in a helicopter?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Buell, Jordan. Helicopters: Photos + Facts. Independently published, 2024.
McKenzie, Fletcher. 61 Lessons From The Sky: Military Helicopters. Squabbling Sparrows Press, 2020.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority of LN‑OFU wreck at crash site at Skoddevarre, is in the public domain because legal statutes, administrative regulations, court decisions and other decisions by public authorities are unprotected.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
