Originally Posted by
Smokey23
F/W dude here, who's admittedly out of his element in analyzing this accident. Though I'd really be interested in hearing from someone who regularly operates helos in the LA basin to understand if IFR ops there are even a practical option. I could believe that ATC congestion might wipe out the whole time/convenience argument of flying a helo in the first place. But at the same time, if there was ever a day when going to the trouble of filing and then just flying in the clouds (vs. trying to avoid them) would have been the safer route, it was a day like last Sunday.
We do it all the time but typically it’s easier to just follow the freeways VFR like the mishap aircraft did. ATC is great and treats us like any other IFR-filed folks when we do file. So yes, very practical, just not usually necessary (maybe it’s this attitude that leads to events such as this). Special VFR isn’t a problem, but once you get into the hills it’s easy to get stuck should conditions catch you. I’d imagine it’s largely dictated by company SOPs and protocols, not to mention any perceived sense of urgency to get the guy where he needed to be. Again, this is from a military point of view with zero corporate helicopter experience.