Watch This Stand Full of VIPs Get Trashed by a Low-Flying Chopper's Rotor Wash
A group of VIPs in Indonesia got a firsthand encounter with the shockingly powerful rotor wash from an attack helicopter on Sunday that trashed their shaded stand.
The incident happened during a parade celebrating the 74th anniversary of the country’s armed forces, according to the UK Daily Mail.
Video of the helicopter’s low fly-by is making the rounds online to much mockery from users.
During the troops’ marching, a Russian-made attack helicopter flies into the frame at an unbelievably low altitude. Following it, the effects of the machine’s powerful downward force can be seen.
Dust is violently stirred up, banners are shredded and the VIP pavilion is given a thorough thrashing as billboards flanking it are simply knocked over by the force.
Ironically, the theme of the celebration was the professionalism of the country’s military.
While their country’s military may not be cutting edge, Indonesian pilots should know the effects of their helicopters and the deadly force they can project.
Rotor wash or downwash is an powerful disturbance of the air following a plane or helicopter, the natural result of the lift it takes to make modern heavier-than-air vehicles fly.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s Aeronautical Information Manual makes it clear how dangerous a force this is.
“Pilots of small aircraft should avoid operating within three rotor diameters of any helicopter in a slow hover taxi or stationary hover,” the manual states.
When a helicopter is in motion, things quickly get complicated.
The air disturbance can impact other aircraft flying through the area, sometimes with disastrous results. In the video below a plane can be seen crashing after flying through a helicopter’s residual rotor wash.
While it doesn’t look like anyone was hurt in the Indonesian celebration, the powerful forces of a helicopter are nothing to scoff at.
It’s unclear what will happen to this pilot, but there probably won’t be any low flyovers for next year’s military parade.
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