I used to fly the Gazelle gas turbine heli a few years ago. It didn't seem to matter what the weather was but I found turning sometimes a problem when flying low because of what was on the ground. The amount of times when I thought that the end was nigh as the machine dropped because of air pockets etc.
As you drop into an air pocket, the mind tends to race and you tend to think of everything that could be causing it from engine problems to rotor failure etc. But all it would be is a lack of downward rotor pressure.
Heli's are safe if the conditions are right, but there again, so are planes. So long as there is enough space to land.
Oh, one other danger is when you drop something out of the open door of a heli. the natural reaction to try and catch it is overwhelming! I've lost a couple things before myself, but not my life purely because of my harness. But I HAVE lunged for them without thinking. Natural reaction.
But hey, I've even fallen off of a (thankfully) SLOW moving camera truck too. No injuries apart from scrapes and a scuffed lens on the second camera. Just goes to show that danger isn't only in the sky.
