I have flown by that 'mickey mouse' unlit tower many times over the last 20 years! It is probably about 130 ft. or so.....sits in the middle of a large hwy interchange, on a direct line to the old BAMC (SAMMC) ground pad, if you are approaching from southeast.....and if you are on an approach to land, and not familiar with local hazards, and the ground surrounding it is all grassy and totally dark, which it is.......yeah, it could be missed! I know where it is and give it a wide berth always.....Great flying after impact!!! 'But for the Grace of God....!' Kudos to SAFD.....great organization!!!
I'm glad that worked out OK but it just as easily could have gone sideways -- it seems to me that the rotor wash could have sent a mattress airborne and possibly been struck by the main or tail rotor.
"The aircraft was directed to the airport, where San Antonio firefighters under the direction of Capt. Kevin Campbell were tasked with landing the damaged helicopter."
they're probably going to make him/her wish they had totaled it....they'll be walking through the crew room when someone will say "the reception around here sucks must be because of that cell phone tower you took out" or "one skid" or "fluffy bottom, broken tower...really the list goes on....great job on every ones part though.
Not the first time its been done. Soc Trang, Vietnam,1965. Over eager pilot took off too quickly and lost lift. Hooked skid shoes of a heavily loaded UH1B gunship on PSP (perforated strip planking) and tore off both skids and aft cross tube. A crew chief came up with the idea of putting mattresses on rotor blade shipping boxes. Worked out just fine! The unit was Co. A, 101st Aviation Batallion, 101st Airborne Divison. I have photos.
That's my old unit; the Comancheros. I was with them 70-71. I got one skid shoe hooked. Damn near turned me over. I can't remember what gave, probably the shoe, but the blades got real close to the ground. I was way overloaded and had to land to the psp
Landing on mattresses not to bas. Hitting a cell tower in flight, bad idea. Hitting a cell tower in flight and remaining in the air: Priceless. Give that Pilot a cigar before you fire him.
