I wonder if somebody can educate me on the following topic.

We plan to have a helipad on our expedition yacht. The helipad will meet most of the requirements demanded by the classification society but there's one part where we can't comply due to space reasons.

We've spoken to several helicopter pilots and they don't see any problem putting a helicopter down there as long as it's not bigger than a Bell Jet ranger and the vessel is at anchor in calm waters. But, it won't be a certified helipad.

So, say an experienced pilot lands, messes up and crashes the helicopter an it ends up in the water. Minor damage to ship. total loss helicopter. Could its insurance then claim it won't pay damages to us because our pad was not an official helipad? What about the lost helicopter?

Should we have (and can we get) additional insurance because we allow helicopers to land on our vessel?

Who's responsible for allowing to land a helicopter on a yacht? The captain because he allows it (assuming the pilot does what always does: land safely) or the pilot because he's most familiar with his piloting skills.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[mp-willow]

As owner and operator you are held accountable for the Yacht and a heli if it is landing. The captain has to make the call, but realize ports do not let them land inside, so yo have to leave most ports. From looking at your drawings it is very close. I would ask you if you are planning to keep the heli on board for more then a day?

In the end I would get more coverage, and are you going to be owning the helicopter? That makes a big difference.

Originally Posted by mp-willow

As owner and operator you are held accountable for the Yacht and a heli if it is landing. The captin has to make the call, but realize ports do not let them land inside, so yo have to leave most ports. From looking at your drawings it is very close. I would ask you if you are planning to keep the heli on board for more then a day?

In the end I would get more coverage, and are you going to be owning the helicopter? That makes a big difference.

Thanks for the feedback. We don't expect to land heli's when in port. This ship is to stay out of port :-)

We have about 2 meters between the main rotor blade tip and the exhaust stag (with a Bell Jetranger III).

But, the pilot will lose his pitot tube to the lower aft part of the exhaust encloser before he ever runs into that problem so, that's pretty impossible unless he makes a vertical approach from above which no heli pilot in his right mind would do.

But,now, assuming we have hull insurance on yacht and helicopter, will insurance pay when the pilot makes some kind of mistake ?

Thorwald

Well, I guess the images below show that even the multi million $$ yachts don't have certifiable helipads on board.

Both the Attessa and Ambrosia obviously have a space issue. We'll actually have more landing space.

I feel better now :-)

Thorwald

[kc135delta]

But,now, assuming we have hull insurance on yacht and helicopter, will insurance pay when the pilot makes some kind of mistake ?

The helicopter insurance will pay out, you just declare pilot error and since it will be outside of the U.S., unless U.S. citizens die in the crash you won't have an FAA report. Your rates will go up considerably but pilot error + helicopters = most common mistake. If you get a high time pilot your rates will be low in the beginning and trust me, they arn't hard to find. Alot of rotorheads work at 7-11. The market for them isn't real hot. I wouldn't even report any damage done to the boat to your ship's insurance as they will probably just drop you. Any damage done by the helicopter to the boat will be covered by the helicopter's insurance assuming you have full coverage *WHICH I FULLY RECOMMEND*

If you are have teething problems on the helicopter - ship integration shoot me a PM I can help you out.

[DocRon]

Originally Posted by balboa

I wonder if somebody can educate me on the following topic.

Who's responsible for allowing to land a helicopter on a yacht? The captain because he allows it (assuming the pilot does what always does: land safely) or the pilot because he's most familiar with his piloting skills.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thorwald Westmaas

I'm no boff on this subject. I used to crew on a rescue helicopter back in SA!
I think that every pilot is responsible for the safety of the crew and helicopter as a captain of a yacht is responsible for the well being of yacht and crew. Ultimately, it comes down to pilot error if he/she crashes.

I hope that you find a very competant pilot with a steady hand as it does not look like your helipad has much space for error.

Good luck

[jdpeterson]

Regardless of the decisions of the Pilot in Command or the Captain, after the fact, the Courts will be the final arbiters of financial responsibility. I think a risk analysis by competent legal council, or counsels if operations are contemplated in more than one legal jurisdiction, examining the insurance policies covering both the helicopter and the yacht, with an eye specifically to what is not covered; a difficult task indeed.

Otherwise it's a pure, you can pay now or later, but either way, you'll pay. The only question is how much?