R2OK!

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

2 people died and a dozen people injured after a Helicopter hit a crane in London and crashed on a street in Vauxhall. It's amazed many others weren't killed or more carnage. The pilot who died was 50 Year Old Peter Barnes who has flown for films such as James Bond.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21040410

http://www.lbc.co.uk/breaking-helicopter-crashes-in-vauxhall-65940/album/helicopter_crashes_in_vauxhall/1945

Toggy · Joined: 18 Aug 2008 Posts: 1239

Very sad but looks like some had a very lucky escape, the crane driver was late for work otherwise he'd have been in the cabin. Shocked

I wonder why he thought it was a good idea to fly in fog, seems a very strange thing for someone so experienced to do.

ruddlescat · Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Posts: 18010 Location: Near Chester

If you're driving a car or other motor vehicle I always think that the word 'FOG' is a simple acronym for the words 'Foot Off Gas' - and I suppose the same thing applies to other forms of transport including helicopters Sad

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Are you ready for a Ruddles?

RockitRon · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 7646

As usual with these incidents, there is much speculation, but we shall have to wait for the investigators' report to hear the exact cause and circumstances.

One report had said that the pilot had requested clearance to land at Battersea Heliport - his scheduled journey was to Elstree - which may indicate some sort of problem beforehand.

A tragedy and a major incident in the capital city, but helicopter crashes are not exactly unknown - ask any helicopter pilot how easy it is to get life insurance - and I couldn't help thinking that a huge meal was being made of it, and would it have been the same if it had crashed over almost any other town or city in the UK.
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Ron

R2Icon · Joined: 10 Sep 2009 Posts: 1444

Ron, if there was a worldwide major epidemic of certain death, the beeb wouldn't report on it until the virus started to crawl over the M25. "A40 CLOSED- Rest of the world cut off"