Why do helicopters crash so much more often than other aircraft?
In: Physics
Helicopters can land safely even when the engine fails. It’s called “autorotation”.
The pilot lowers the “collective” lever – the one which makes the helicopter go up and down. This results in the angle of the rotor blades changing, so that as the helicopter descends, the airflow through the rotor causes the rotor to rotate (and therefore giving the pilot control), and causing drag (slowing the helicopter down).
Helicopters don’t have much control when the engine fails, but because they can land almost anywhere, this is all the control they need – enough to pick somewhere directly below and land.
Most larger helicopters have two engines, though, so an engine failure is much less of an issue.
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