Kenny Keller explains how helicopter pilots can accidentally enter a dangerous settling-with-power situation during photo flights, especially when holding position with a tailwind. Pilots must prioritize safety over the shot and refuse requests that put the aircraft at risk.
Probably one of the most common things is probably going to be photo flights. Never fails. When you're doing a photo flight, the photographer or you might be shooting for a news station, they're always going to want that shot. When you're going to be in a particular spot and they're going to say, slow down, slow down. This is great, this is perfect. And it's almost always going to be the wind's going to be off your tail or it's going to be a quartering tail wind. Rarely do you ever get them in the shot that they want pointed directly into the wind. So you, as the pilot in command, you're going to have to make the decision. Either say, no, I can't stop there, or I can slow down a little bit. But you have to explain to them, and if you can't do the shot, if you can't give it to them, you just have to say, look, I'm sorry, but I can't give you that shot. Gonna have to come up with something else. And they'll get aggravated with you. But you're pilot in command and you don't want to put yourself in a bad position just to get their shot. And I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. You're pilot in command. You gotta, gotta use good practice. But so for example, if you're doing a photography shot, you're doing a photo flight and you know, the wind might be off your. Maybe it's a crosswind. You think, well, I'm gonna be okay. And you're hovering in one position. The guy's trying to get his shot and he's going, yes, perfect. I love that. That's great. Hold it right there. He's snapping away. And you aren't keeping a good hover going necessarily. Maybe you're letting the aircraft start to settle a little bit and you're not paying attention. Maybe you could have moved the nose a little bit more towards the wind and let him still get his shot. It happens from not keeping a good precise hover, pointing to the wind, staying into the controls. So Photoflights is one of the big ones.
