Navy investigating helicopter dip into Lake Tahoe

[Chris V]

Whoops!

Story here.

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100924/NEWS/100929871/1001&parentprofile=1056

[Matt Ottosen]

That's one lucky SOB, I'm amazed that he was able to get her back out of the water!

[F-16_fixer]

I hate to be an armchair investigator but I'm betting they got too close to the water and the water spray started to go down the intake reducing the power.  How it pulled back out is a mystery to me though. 

[Dave S.]

My two cents: looks like it was pretty decent rate of descent into the water and the bouyancy of the fuselage is what saved his skin.  Almost looks like the whole helo shoots out of the water and back into the air, getting the intakes just clear enough of the water spray to develop enough power to get him out of there.  Amazing that none of the blades (main rotor & tail rotor) appear to have impacted the water.  Surely there's enough energy in any one of those blades to cause a catastrophic blade failure if any of them hit the water.

Wow, lucky pilot, but unlucky career move.

[Joe Copalman]

You know you're pretty lame when even Poseidon, God of the Ocean, rejects you as a sacrifice. 

[CJPalmer]

Well, you know what they say about helicopters. They can't fly, they're just so ugly the earth repels them.