Why Long Hair and Helicopter Don’t Mix



If you can’t read the text, here it is:

The "hairball" you see is hair - human hair. This happened March 27th at Holloman to an Army Civil Service Aircraft Maintenance Technician. He was literally "scalped" when his long hair caught on the rotating shaft. You all know my concern and position on this issue. I leave the choice up to you. Those who do have long hair should personally evaluate hair control requirements, the work situation, and their own personal safety concerns. Again - the choice is yours! It would be a tragedy to have it happen here. - Sully

Found at an old favorite, The Oops List (a fantastic resource of all things crash-related)


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Posted on July 23, 2007 at 1:11 am by Alex
Category: Pictures, Weapons & War



8 comments to "Why Long Hair and Helicopter Don’t Mix"

  • Yak Boy
    July 23rd, 2007 at 4:42 am

    They were literally “scalped”, except there’s no scalp, skin or blood - just hair.

    It probably would have hurt a lot, but doesn’t look anywhere near the fatal accident implied by the term “scalped”.

  • Ron
    July 23rd, 2007 at 3:05 pm

    Since when does the Army allow mechanics (or anyone else for that matter) to have long hair?

  • mark
    July 23rd, 2007 at 3:56 pm

    i think it’s bullshit.woulda pulled his scalp off with the torque a helicopter has.

  • shawn
    July 23rd, 2007 at 4:25 pm

    Males arent allowed to have long hair–hence this story is innacurate.

  • Dre
    July 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 pm

    Yep no long hair allowed in the ARMY. That’s armpit hair from a very hairy male caucasian.

  • ted
    July 23rd, 2007 at 7:12 pm

    Says he was Army Civil Service. Does that make a difference in hair length?

    I didn’t believe it because I don’t see blood all over. “Scalping” sounds like an exaggeration.

  • The Slapster
    July 24th, 2007 at 8:02 pm

    I’ve heard tales of guys in the printing industry getting “scalped” by presses, and other machinery. But thank god, never seen it. Hair + fast moving gears = bad freakin’ idea.

  • elektros
    August 27th, 2007 at 7:54 pm

    It was obviously a civilian technician. I once knew a guy who got is hair caught in a drill press and never grew it long again afterwards.

    OTOH, they don’t say the guy should have had short hair. Instead they talk about “hair control requirements”. As a long haired guy myself I take restraining my hair around moving machinery very seriously. Better to tie hair back, braid it, or even wear a bun than to get it caught in rotating machinery. Better to look girly than get scalped!

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