Rescue Chopper Crashes in Chichibu

[Samurai_Jerk]

Five people died after a rescue helicopter belonging to the Saitama prefectural government carrying seven people crashed Sunday on a mountain in the city of Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, police said.

The seven on board the helicopter included a 54-year-old pilot and a 32-year-old co-pilot, three aviation security officers of the prefectural government and two rescue workers from the local fire department, according to the local government.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said the chopper was smoldering but had not gone up in flames.

The helicopter for disaster prevention was on an operation to rescue a member of a nine-climber party on the mountain at the time of the incident around 11:10 a.m., police said.

The chopper went down after sending down the rescue workers to the ground to rescue a female climber who fell into a waterfall basin in the mountain. (more)

[Coligny]

Seriously... How many people do they really need onboard for these kind of operations ?

We use Alouette III for mountain rescue... And it's way more than the max number of people that can be carried... (5)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aérospatiale_Alouette_III

(even with a pict of the former Nagoya FD model)

[Socratesabroad]

Seriously... How many people do they really need onboard for these kind of operations ?

Fair enough, "three aviation security officers" would seem like a waste of carrying capacity unless they attempted a rescue while en route to somewhere else.

And it's way more than the max number of people that can be carried... (5)

Well, the AS365 N3 that crashed is supposed to carry 11 plus 2 pilots, so even if you subtract 3-4 passengers for the emergency equipment, winch, etc. there shouldn't have been any load problems.

[Coligny]

Well, the AS365 N3 that crashed is supposed to carry 11 plus 2 pilots, so even if you subtract 3-4 passengers for the emergency equipment, winch, etc. there shouldn't have been any load problems.

Yeah, I know, wuz just saying that with a regular rescue chopper they wouldn't have that luxury....

[Mike Oxlong]

[SIZE="5"]Japanese journalists die on mountain assignment[/SIZE]

Two Japanese journalists reported missing by their television network while pursuing a story of a helicopter crash were found dead on a mountain Sunday near the scene of the accident.

Nippon Television reporter Yuji Kita and cameraman Jun Kawakami were on their way to the scene of the crash that killed five people last weekend. The two men were unresponsive when found Sunday morning partially submerged in a pool of water in a gorge about 980 feet (300 meters) below a mountain trail in Chichibu city, roughly two hours northwest of Tokyo.

They were taken to a hospital and declared dead in the afternoon.

"I am filled with sadness that we lost two extremely talented and ambitious people," said Nippon Television President Tadanori Hosokawa at a press conference.

The network said it is investigating the accident and the journalists' preparations for the assignment.

The journalists began their trek Saturday morning, and Nippon Television said it contacted authorities after they did not return in the evening.

The area is not particularly dangerous for regular mountain climbing, said Kiyomitsu Yashiro, deputy chief of the Chichibu police department. But Kita, 30, and Kawakami, 43, appeared to have been scaling a steep gorge.

"It quite easy to hit branches or the surrounding walls, so you can assume accidents will occur," he said.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jYwzncjK1IIJZrcbf16SGGTr00EAD9HAK34G0

[IkemenTommy]

First a woman dies after being missing in the woods... then a helicopter rescue crew to search for the woman fatally crashes... and then two Nittele boy scouts with minimal gear go out to report on the failed helicopter attempt to save the woman end up dead also.

I guess they learned this time to not send any more rescue choppers.

[CrankyBastard]

First a woman dies after being missing in the woods... then a helicopter rescue crew to search for the woman fatally crashes... and then two Nittele boy scouts with minimal gear go out to report on the failed helicopter attempt to save the woman end up dead also.

I guess they learned this time to not send any more rescue choppers.

Was talking with a neighbour earlier about these incidents, the guy is seriously convinced that the spirit of the first death is responsible for the others.
He said something about the period between the mid July obon and mid August obon is a time span when recently deceased/released spirits are in limbo waiting for the right opportunity to cross over, and being Japanese prefer to go in as large a group as possible.

[American Oyaji]

I prefer to believe it's the work of some evil bastards who have some plot going on up there.

[IkemenTommy]

Was talking with a neighbour earlier about these incidents, the guy is seriously convinced that the spirit of the first death is responsible for the others.
He said something about the period between the mid July obon and mid August obon is a time span when recently deceased/released spirits are in limbo waiting for the right opportunity to cross over, and being Japanese prefer to go in as large a group as possible.

I heard we are having an FG summer get together at Chichibu. You guys bring the meat and the bbq. I'm bringing the keg.

[Coligny]

First a woman dies after being missing in the woods... then a helicopter rescue crew to search for the woman fatally crashes... and then two Nittele boy scouts with minimal gear go out to report on the failed helicopter attempt to save the woman end up dead also.

I guess they learned this time to not send any more rescue choppers.

yeah.... and maybe one day they will learn aboot vortex ring and hot weather...

[Greji]

and then two Nittele boy scouts with minimal gear go out to report on the failed helicopter attempt to save the woman end up dead also.

I have a home out in Chichibukokuritsukoen and it is an amazing thing to watch. The flat land tourists (which I think these star reporters fit into that group) come out by the millions on the weekends. They are in various states of dress/undress and are wanting to go trekking and climb the mountainous slopes. I've even seen some of the split tails show up in high heels. Almost none of them are dressed (nor have any idea about) for what they are about to undertake. Each weekend, the resukyutai has to be scrambled to find and/or save, any number of them. They're nuts. They have never been out from under the neon and off of the concrete of downtown Tokyo, but they watch some TV commercial that shows "real men and women" out in the wilds, and they gotta do it too. They fall off the mountains, down the slopes, into the rivers/streams. They are continually getting lost, while others drown, burn themselves up trying to light a real "woodsman" campfire by siphoning gas out of their cars/motorcycles and snapping their Zippo. The casualty list is amazing. It would be totally hilarious if they weren't dying at the rate of two or three a month on the average. Summer months, tend to earn them higher scores. Fortunately, Japan, being the only country in the world with Shiki, provides a different crew each season. Spring has those coming to observe the new green sprouts and even Hanami, falling down the mountains at a rate resembling shots coming down a pachinko machine. Summer allows them to continue their mountain diving, adding submersion, drowning and BBQ burning to the schedule. This continues in and through the Autumn. Winter does away with the BBQ only. The snow and ice is excellent for allowing easier access to the bottom of the mountains and valleys by introducing slips and slides. Some of the mountain trails begin to look like a Olympic slalom courses with cos-players, babas and jijis alike, flying down them on their heads and asses in masses. Ahhh, Nihonjin umare yokkatta!

[Coligny]

---a bit long to requote--

Yeah... me bitch iz like that... planned a little walk around mountainside towns at the last stop of an SL train line. Somewhat hot already (july I think). I start packing... she start choosing dress and matching shoes. I ask her to take something to drink, she goes for the 200cc sissy juice... hopefully I took a 2l litter bottle of water mixed with pocary sweat. She's also the kind of not buying fire extinguisher because there never was any fire...
While I'm on edge of survivalism and always over preparing...

//boring

//REALLY BORING

[hairygateau]

..but the one piece of equipment they were all carrying would have been those fekking bear-bells.

[IkemenTommy]

..but the one piece of equipment they were all carrying would have been those fekking bear-bells.

5 bucks says they were carrying a toy phone like Softbank or Au instead of a real phone with reliable service.

[TennoChinko]

I am guessing that the bosses at Nippon TV placed a huge amount of undue pressure on the reporter and cameraman to get shots of the helicopter crash site. Of course, NTV are already claiming the two all did so of their own accord.

[tidbits]

Yeah... me bitch iz like that...

no matter how you'd like to change any English spelling, please don't refer to your wifey like this.

[Samurai_Jerk]

no matter how you'd like to change any English spelling, please don't refer to your wifey like this.

But what if she is a bitch?

[tidbits]

But what if she is a bitch?

You mean Japan allowed interspecies marrriage? Or if they are of same species then I have to say the male is quite intelligent to be able to type.

[Greji]

no matter how you'd like to change any English spelling, please don't refer to your wifey like this.

Maybe it ain't his wifey. Maybe it actually is his bitch????

[Coligny]

Maybe it ain't his wifey. Maybe it actually is his bitch????

Actually it's a reference to Ali-G since most of my english have turned into a mess of lolcat-chav cross over...

To stay classy she on her side prefer to pronouce it "beeyotch" when she use it to call me...

Yup... Wherever we go, people get the feeling that the circus is in town...

I might switch to 'me jooly' if U pr3f3r...

(on a side note, if it piss you off as much as me when people use the expression "the wife" I, like, totally feel your pain....)

[tidbits]

Actually it's a reference to Ali-G since most of my english have turned into a mess of lolcat-chav cross over...

To stay classy she on her side prefer to pronouce it "beeyotch" when she use it to call me...

Yup... Wherever we go, people get the feeling that the circus is in town...

I might switch to 'me jooly' if U pr3f3r...

(on a side note, if it piss you off as much as me when people use the expression "the wife" I, like, totally feel your pain....)

The only thing I agree with you is your comments on your command of English, so I don't understand what are you singing here. Never mind, it was just a gentle suggestion anyway.


(on the side note, don't worry, no way you had pissed me off at all. For instance, a microworm that feed on the feces of the mites that feed on the bitch, would only piss off the mites, or the bitch)

[Coligny]

The only thing I agree with you is your comments on your command of English, so I don't understand what are you singing here. Never mind, it was just a gentle suggestion anyway.

Not always easy to find common 'cultural' references...

Ali-G

[YT]dyLSstqMvH8[/YT]

Chav

Repost
[YT]scNLfr1EP08[/YT]

Da leg@SSy
[YT]yIH8kWGFxcQ[/YT]

And for the older crowd... some morally decadent animated Daguerreotype
[YT]iNtNxhQmkt4[/YT]

[Greji]

Not always easy to find common 'cultural' references...
And for the older crowd... some morally decadent animated Daguerreotype
[YT]iNtNxhQmkt4[/YT]

What you mean common "Cultural" references? What's hard about that?
That was my first cameo doing kneecaps at 4:14.....

[Mike Oxlong]

[FG Lurker]

Figured this pretty much fit this thread...

[GomiGirl]

Figured this pretty much fit this thread...

Good find FG. Very apt.

[FG Lurker]

Good find FG. Very apt.

Glad you got a chuckle. The original is here, he often has funny strips.

[Mike Oxlong]

Last week...

2 crewmembers die after chopper crashes on Yakushima

A helicopter carrying two crewmembers crashed on Sunday in a mountain on Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan, killing the two men, police said. The 38-year-old mechanic Shoji Miyake and the 47-year-old pilot, Yasuhisa Tanigawa, died after being taken to a nearby hospital.

There were no reports of injuries other than the crewmembers in the 8:40 a.m. crash, according to the police. The chopper belonged to Aero Asahi Corp based in Tokyo, they added.

According to the Environment Ministry, the chopper was dispatched to the island to transport building materials for repair work on a bridge near the crash site in the mountains.

The police are investigating whether the chopper was actually carrying the materials at the time of the incident.

The 500-square-kilometer island south of the prefecture in Kyushu is especially noted for old growth Cryptomeria trees believed to be about 3,000 years old and nearly 20 meters tall. It is also on the World Heritage list.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/helicopter-crashes-in-yaku-island


This week...

GSDF chopper with 4 on board crashes at garrison in Yao

A Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter with a crew of four crashed on Sunday at the GSDF Yao garrison in the city of Yao in Osaka prefecture, with one of the four on board sustaining serious injuries, police said. The four crew members were taken to a nearby hospital, according to the local fire station.

The GSDF said the injuries to the four, three of whom were only slightly hurt in the crash, are not life threatening.

The UH-1 helicopter belonging to the GSDF Middle Army Aviation Group was on a test flight after a regular maintenance check and was hovering when it crashed, according to the GSDF, which is now investigating the cause of the incident. Two pilots and two mechanics were on board, the GSDF said.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/gsdf-chopper-with-4-on-board-crashes-at-garrison-in-yao

[Coligny]

I blame gravity...

[FG Lurker]

I blame gravity...

Only the take-offs are optional eh...