Accident caused by low flying helicopter

TheCurlyPony

TheCurlyPony

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Hi

Was wondering if anyone could help. I was thrown off my horse on friday due to a low flying air sea rescue helicopter appearing from beyond a hedge on livery yard. We don't think it had just taken taken off, we think it was just flying at really low height.

Ive filled in a complain form via BHS site but was wondering if anyone knew if there was anyone else I could complain to. I think the complaint form via BHS goes to the MOD so im not sure if I will hear back from them as this was an air sea rescue helicopter.

Has anyone had to make a complaint before?

Many Thanks
 
No, we have low flying helicoptors the whole time, and when I say low, I mean really low. Our horses don't mind them at all when they are out grazing, or out riding.

Would be interested to hear the outcome of this.
 
unfortunately I think as it was a rescue vehicle then they are semi exempt from low flying law. if you live near a coast it is the sort of thing you have to expect as they can not warn you every time they are going to have a rescue.

In addition to have any complaint taken seriously you have to have been wearing full reflective clothing (horse and rider) as people flying a helicopter are unlikely to notice a non brightly coloured horse and rider. I know that it is terrible unfortunate that you had your accident and I really do hope you and the horse are not badly hurt but the person or persons on the helicopter might have been about to die….. its just the same as an ambulance on the road, the way they drive could cause accident countless times a day, but in the most cases they actually end up saving lives. and yes I know it is different because you were on a horse, not a car, and perhaps you could campaign for warning signs but I don’t think your complaint will be taken seriously.
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Are they making stealth sea rescue choppers now then?

Jeepers its not like it was someone on a jolly - they are out potentially saving lives and while I agree low flying is scary and dangerous for the horse, you do have quite a lot of warning they are there and I highly doubt they were flying low for giggles.

I wouldn't be complaining, I'd be having my ears syringed.
 
Ok...

Just wondering here....
How does a sea king "appear" from behind a hedge?

How flamin big is this hedge???????

More to the point... did you not hear it?...like with 10 minutes warning???
 
Ah...
tis the one complaint I never heard !

Many others and plenty of low flying one's..... but never described as being quiet
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Would love to see the response to the complaint for this one
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I made a complaint about 6 years ago after a jaguar jet flew VER VERY low over my house and paddock. It was so loud, it shook my insides. My horses were terrified. The result was a horse with a badly gashed leg (almost to the tendon, she was lucky)I thinks one of the others had gone in to the back of her as they ran in fear. The wound required stitching and several vets visits, the result was a bill of over £400. I complained over the phone and was asingned an investigating officer. After going over the incident in detail, date and time of accident, exact location and description of the plane and direction it was flying they paid the bill. It was however only 2 weeks after a local lady was killed after her horse was spooked by a chinook so i think it was damage limitation. They didn't even came out to see me or the horse or contact the vet which they said they would in the begining.
 
If it was a rescue helicopter, have a care. They may have been transporting a diver suffering from bends, in which case they cannot go high as they will kill the poor unfortunate soul. I guess if you live near the coast low flying aircraft go with the territory.
 
Oohh, where abouts in the country are you?

We had a Sea King go over on Friday, it's a most unusual sight where I am. It was pretty low but not hedge height. We had a stop to watch as it's so rare to see.

Mine pony wasn't bothered as previous yard she was on had a private helicopter, so she's used to that going up, plus the Hawks, Tornados and Typhoons on test flights.
The one thing she's not keen on is the Nimrod, I think it's because it seems to lumber in the air, rather than just shoot across her vision.

I've just read that back and I sound like some nerdy military aircraft spotter
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Oohh, where abouts in the country are you?

We had a Sea King go over on Friday, it's a most unusual sight where I am. It was pretty low but not hedge height. We had a stop to watch as it's so rare to see.

Mine pony wasn't bothered as previous yard she was on had a private helicopter, so she's used to that going up, plus the Hawks, Tornados and Typhoons on test flights.
The one thing she's not keen on is the Nimrod, I think it's because it seems to lumber in the air, rather than just shoot across her vision.

I've just read that back and I sound like some nerdy military aircraft spotter
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yeah but we wouldn't know if you were just making it up either.
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I always think it is a bit of an issue with all emergency services type vehicles, ie we are aware of their need to get past but there is no point them causing another accident in the process is there? I have had an ambulance pass me by coming towards me and it turned sirens off and we were ok as they saw us in good time. I know a friend that had one come from behind with blues and twos on though.

Also on the noise front might depend where OP lives, we are close to the motorway and if I was hacking that way it can tend to drown out all other noise until its on top of you which makes listening for trains pretty hard.
 
Boltonrider. If id of heard it coming I would'nt of been sat on my arse on the floor. Im also not saying that these guy's don't do a fantastic job either.
 
I live near the coast and often have the sea king directly over the top and rather low with it.
We also have the army (not sure which) doing hedge hopping training exercises round our way. These heli's are often at tree height or in some cases do low you can feel the back draft caused by them. It has to be said 9/10 times the horses really really arnt bothered. Yes sometimes they can get a little upset (I do think this could be why how my horse damaged his leg in the field - although thats a risk of horses......he could have easily been upset by a thunderstorm where by I wouldnt be able to complain to the weather man)but then again how many times do you ride your horse past things and they never bat an eyelid yet on one occasion they freak out thus depositing you.....who would you complain to then?
 
we have helicopters near us and i fell off when one hovered just above us as we where jumping. horse freaked and i fell off and because i was so angry, pretended to lay dead on the floor to see what he did. and he flew away. i didnt complain though. i would also like to see the outcome of this
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No complain - I agree with everything above, but know that because of the level of complaints they now train pilots to avoid horses if possible - otherwise the pilots don't understand unless they are horsey themselves!

A friend in the army who does helicpter training tells me they now incorporates trying to avoid horses - after all it may be horses here but elsewhere it may be someone with a surface to air missilie (and they don't wear hi-viz clothing).

So, although you will probably get a standard reply back, it helps to maintain awareness of what can be a dangerous problem for us riders!
 
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More to the point... did you not hear it?...like with 10 minutes warning???

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So, if you're hacking out in the country side, and hear one coming in the distance, what would you suggest the OP should have done to avoid her accident?

I think that sometimes we all realise we're in a difficult situation whilst riding, but aren't always able to prevent the inevitable from happening......... and it's very difficult to train your horse not to be scared of LF helicopters (unless you happen to own one
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Actually a Sea King did appear from behind the barn on a previous yard and Chinooks regularly used to appear up from the valley and hover over the field.
Low fly zone y'see, bonkers Matey runs away down the lane (all that TB blood and nowhere to go) if a leaf shakes at him but couldn't care less about the helicopters, Jaguars, Tornados and the very low flying Hercules.
 
[ QUOTE ]

So, if you're hacking out in the country side, and hear one coming in the distance, what would you suggest the OP should have done to avoid her accident?

I think that sometimes we all realise we're in a difficult situation whilst riding, but aren't always able to prevent the inevitable from happening......... and it's very difficult to train your horse not to be scared of LF helicopters (unless you happen to own one
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To put it politely there is sod all you can do!!!!

However knowing that I use a horse whom I know to be wary of heli's, when using a trekking centre..... when I hear them coming I tend to get horsey to face said heli... or dismount so I dont get thrown!
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My fascination with the post was the surprise element.. when you crew a sea king you do it with heavy duty ear defending headphones on... when you operate in any capacity landing a sea king...you do it with said headphones in place.... or risk hearing damage for a lifetime!

What I cant figure is how you cannot hear a bloody sea king coming... the decibel level at ground rate is HIGH!!....
unless your out wearing earphones and either using the phone or listening to music... in which case it would have to be loud

I wait with anticipation for someone to tell me
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I agree that there is sod all you can do really
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I don't think I'd get off- If the horse spooked and you only had a pair of reins to hold on to, I think the chances of you loosing the horse would be very high. I know in this case the riders horse was most likely loose anyway after she came off, but prehaps she thought she had the best chance of staying in control whilst on board?

I'm guessing that the rider was injured if she's making a formal complaint; but even if the heli in question was a 'rescue' vehicle, the danger caused to the rider by the heli could have resulted in her needing the Air Ambulance
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Well she ended up off anyway by falling, so either way she ended up on the floor only if she GOT off it would have saved the pain I imagine, which seems to be the issue in question here.

The people in that plane save lives every year of theirs, I doubt (repeating myself here) they were flying low for shits and giggles and I dont doubt they would take any precaution not to cause another casualty had they seen the rider. We are STILL yet to hear wether the rider was in full hi-viz..

I will remember to tell my local police, whilst on their way to a robbery to make sure they dont rush past my dog, lest he run into the road and cause me to follow then cause me to run into the road and get run-over and then I'll remind the ambulance not to put their sirens on and scare my cat into running up my neighbours leg and causing her to fall and crack her head on the pavement.

You see where I'm going yes? The emergency services and the equiptment they use is serving a much higher cause than that of most, that fact alone I feel puts them above petty complaints. But thats just me, Im not the type to make others pay for my mistakes, seems the blame culture wins nowerdays.
 
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Well, to save falling off....I'd GET OFF...???

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I have only ever gotten off once, that was a horse that was being super nappy and was trying to back me into a ditch and I didn't know her.

Apart from that one time I have never gotten off and when I did that time I wasn't sure it was the best thing to do, I had horrible images walking back of mare pulling free and buggering off home down the road. I always feel more in control on and have always been told if at all possible stay on the horse. Though don't know when/who ingrained this into me.
 
I always stay on too Ester, but being as the OP fell off anyway its seems a pretty sensible idea in hindsight also I get the distinct feeling this happened on the yard, safe enough time to be off methinks.
 
I was released from hospital today after been admitted on friday. Im not complaining about the fact ive come off. My complaint is the fact i don'y understand as to why they feel the need to fly low over a livery yard when it im guessing it is'nt an emergency. I could be wrong, about it not been an emergency, but due to the fact that they have flown again today over our yard i'm guessing it could now be a regular thing. Oh and yes I was in high vis-, and also wearing a race safe body protector.
 
So why write a letter of complaint? Surely a letter advising them that they are flying near a horse yard and frightenning the horses would do?

You don't understand because you aren't a search and rescue pilot for the area. Owing to the thousands of pounds it costs to launch one (you only have to watch a relevant programme to realise this) I doubt they are doing so on a whim, nor to frighten your horses or cause accidents. I really don't think this situaiton warrants a complaint at all, but then I'm not the complaining type.
 
Well I think the answer is to be more aware of your surroundings in future. Surely you would have heard it. I live in a search and rescue area and I have honestly not heard of any accidents around here. You hear them coming a mile off and if you are in hi viz they do their best to avoid you.

The only thing I have been snuck up on by from over a hedge was the entire Red Arrows display team. Thing is they move so fast you don't hear them until they are overhead. They did their routine, including several spectacular flyovers above our heads. Horsey quite enjoyed when she realised she wouldn't get eaten.

Stupid thing is they come to our town one wednesday a year and always at 1pm. If I was too stupid to log that into my tiny brain that's my look out!
 
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