A guy switched off a helicopter engine mid-flight to prove a point

Have you ever wanted to prove a point so badly that you put your own life at risk?

Well, that’s what one helicopter pilot decided to do when flying around British Columbia.

Of course, it’s obvious to believe that if a plane’s engine fails, it’s possible for its aerodynamic properties to slowly descend and land you neatly on the ground.

But if you’re travelling via helicopter with its propellers on top of its body, that’s another thing entirely.

Not only do they look chunky and tiny at best, but they also feel a lot less safe when taking a dive back to the pavement.

So, turning the engine off mid-flight would rightfully make you think that it’s going to end in disaster.

That’s when a pilot decided to prove Neil deGrasse Tyson wrong after his tweet last year.

Famous American astrophysicist Tyson posted a tweet last year talking about airplanes and helicopters, and the difference in their capabilities if an engine fault occurred.

He wrote: “FYI: An airplane whose engine fails is a glider. A helicopter whose engine fails is a brick.”

Though, that didn’t sit well with Destin Sandlin from the SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel, as he has quite the experience with helicopters.

Unsplash

To show his skills and knowledge, the pilot decided to enlist the help of some experienced helicopter pilots to prove deGrasse Tyson wrong.

So, after enjoying a flight around the lakes of British Columbia, they went on to demonstrate how to safely land a helicopter when its motor failed, using a technique called “autorotation.”

Gerry Friesen, a helicopter pilot with an incredible 16,000 flight hours of experience believes that landing a failed helicopter is way safer than landing an airplane with an engine fault.

Of course, if the propellers stop working, then the helicopter would just plummet, but if they were still working then there are ways to land safely.

Destin explains in the video: "If the rotor blade quits turning you are going to fall like a brick – but helicopter pilots have a physics trick to keep that from happening."

All it needs is a lever and practice.