Landing A Helicopter On The Back Of A Boat in Rough Seas is Not For The Weak Hearted

 

I may be the only one that does this, but I literally caught myself holding my breath while watching this video. I can’t even lie, I absolutely was riveted to my laptop screen watching to see this pilot do his best to land on the deck of this ship in some huge, rolling waves.

The thought of being aboard either of these craft in these conditions alone is almost panic-inducing, but trying to actually park this chopper on the deck while the ship is undulating so wildly quite literally would send me into a fit.

Just think about this: you’re on this boat, already rocking and swaying in the massive ocean swells. During the middle of the ride, you find out it is time for the helicopter to return to the ship. You look out the rain-covered window to see the chopper approaching and notice the horizon rising and falling above and below the ship’s edge. You steady yourself, watching the chopper ease in above the landing zone as the pilot prepares to try to land despite the horrid conditions.

Meanwhile, aboard the chopper, everybody on board can see the ship and the massive waves that are likely finding something to hang on to, expecting a rough landing at best. The pilot eases up alongside the ship to try to gauge the the rhythm of the waves that have both ends of the ship pointing skyward every few seconds, then moves over above the landing circle.

Everybody takes a deep breath as the pilot, after a few false starts, times the waves perfectly, gently sitting his helicopter down as if it’s nothing. I have to assume everybody aboard both the ship and the helicopter breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the chopper was safely back on deck. We have to give this pilot some legitimate praise, because this landing had to be insanely tough to make and he nailed it!