A theory of aviation

A widow wants pilots to stay away from a helicopter involved in 30 crashes in six years in which nine people have died, including a double fatality this month.

The Robinson R22 and its sibling R44 are New Zealand's most popular helicopters because of their low cost.

But their popularity and low performance - the R22's capacity is two people at up to 83kg each including baggage - have caused them to stand out in crash statistics.

Is this a job for Obviousman? These are the most popular helicopters in New Zealand - over half those registered are Robinsons - and they are involved in a lot of crashes. They are probably involved in a lot of sightings as well - you are more likely to see a Robinson than any other type of helicopter; but this does not mean they are more visible than other helicopters.

I have published my theory of aviation elsewhere but, since it is a slow news day, I shall repeat it here:

1) By application and industry, men get rich, but not that rich.

2) These men want spend some of their riches and live large, by doing what very rich men do.

3) What very rich men do is have expensive toys, which are fun to use and status-enhancing. These toys include yachts and helicopters.

4) So these rich (but not that rich) men buy the cheapest helicopter they can find - the R22 - and learn how to fly it.

5) Unfortunately, helicopters are quite difficult to fly: it is all about torque.

6) So some of these men have unfortunate experiences with their toys.

On the bright side, all this keeps capital moving through the economy.

Anyway, back to Game Theory: