system

Sounds the same as when the police are angry and are looking for just ANY violation they can use.
Why not just let people who are just having a good time have their good time?

system

What is subjective about the rule? If you lose your engine you must be able to land without endangering people or property on the ground. That seems pretty objective to me.

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system

People who send videos of this kind of thing to the Federal government really should have been born in the '30s. They could been informants for the NAZIs. Guess they missed their calling.

system

Maybe they’re concerned that people will get trampled in a mad rush for the cash.
Maybe not.

system

Does it technically violate 91.119? Possibly. Was it really worth sending to the FAA to investigate? In my opinion, no. This smells like a fan who wasn’t among the 200 and had a chip on their shoulder. I’ve seen far worse (and arguably more dangerous) that no one has batted an eye at.

system

I believe the subjective part is “undue” hazard. Is potential autorotation onto a soccer field an undue hazard? Was it high enough (i.e. above the ‘rim’) to land outside the stadium?

note: I’m not a helicopter pilot. I’m truly curious, not trying to start a flame war.

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system

I presume the “undue hazard” is from the soccer field that was presumably occupied by 200 fans trying to collect the dropped money, precluding the helicopter from auto-rotating on to. I suppose there could also be concern that the helicopter was flying too slow given the altitude they were at for a successful auto-rotation (if you’re too low and slow, you don’t have enough energy in the rotor system for a safe auto-rotation).