[Abor]

The two pilots looked pretty attractive. Does anyone have other photos of them? Before death obviously.

[HiBypass]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

I am VERY curious as to what the real cause was. Rotor systems normally have limit stops, and switching hydraulic lines would have absolutely no effect, since these stops are normally mechanical. The systems would operate backwards, but that STILL doesn't explain why the rotors contacted the fuselage. There is more to this than just swapped hydraulic lines. I can see the rotor control system operating backwards, but that does not explain how they hit the fuselage.
However, I don't have enough knowledge of this helicopter to offer any explanation. I have had helicopter maintenance training, and this does not add up.

The only thing that makes sense to me is, if because of the sheer size of that rotor (98 ft?), the swash-plate is controlled by hydraulic actuators rather than with mechanical linkage like small helicopters.
Just using the collective to lift off the ground I suppose its possible they wouldn't notice anything wrong at first. But if they tried to tilt one direction and it tilted the opposite way, they would have kept giving it more control input until it smacked into the roof.

This is speculation though
I love reading about different types of aircraft, I'll have to do some research on this one.

[William May]

Originally Posted by HiBypass ↗

The only thing that makes sense to me is, if because of the sheer size of that rotor (98 ft?), the swash-plate is controlled by hydraulic actuators rather than with mechanical linkage like small helicopters.
Just using the collective to lift off the ground I suppose its possible they wouldn't notice anything wrong at first. But if they tried to tilt one direction and it tilted the opposite way, they would have kept giving it more control input until it smacked into the roof.

This is speculation though
I love reading about different types of aircraft, I'll have to do some research on this one.

Well, like I said, even if they were going the wrong way, there are mechanical stops to limit travel on the blades. Once they hit the stops, they don't go any further.
My only thoughts are that either the stops broke off, OR, the blades failed, and thus contacted the crew compartment, thus doing all the damage and killing the guys.
After thinking about it for awhile, I am thinking the blades failed from contact with the ground, and that is what killed everyone. I think the stops are probably still intact. The movement engineering on the blades is probably contingent on them remaining intact, and once a spar breaks or the skin on the rotor fails, all bets are off.
Of course, I don't know for CERTAIN. All I can do is speculate. That is why I was hoping that a reader with experience on that helicopter would contribute their ideas, as they would know the actual aircraft far better than I would. But now it is here, and hopefully someone with expert knowledge will have something to add.

[2beers]

damn, forgot about that. My older brother has been minesweeping with SFOR and IFOR and KFOR at this time.

[-JasonR-]

Thank you Herman, great post.

There is an entry on the Aviation Safety Network page which gives a little more info about the accident, and identifies both the aircraft and its pilots:

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/55634

[CreepyDeathShrine]

Nice damage.
Beautifully helicopter.