Helicopter Crash in Vauxhall

[paul1867]

From the report it says "Mr Caring said he (the pilot) was a "very dear friend"" which would, no doubt, have influenced the nature of the conversation.

I have a good line of sight of Crystal Palace TV mast from here from a couple of miles. I do not know how to describe visibility correctly but as a layman I would say it was fair with haze. The mast is visible with its warning lights on at 09:30 which is obviously well after sunrise.

[hampden98]

The latest news item is a load of rubbish.
The pilot flew into a crane. Mistakes happen.

[T-21]

Reports that the obstruction lights on the crane were only switched on at night. If so they should be on 24/7 but whether the pilot would have seen them in the visibility that morning would be greatly reduced . Are they stroboscopic ? that would catch the attention,particularly in a high cockpit workload environment getting ready to land at Battersea.

[hampden98]

Reports that the obstruction lights on the crane were only switched on at night. If so they should be on 24/7 but whether the pilot would have seen them in the visibility that morning would be greatly reduced . Are they stroboscopic ? that would catch the attention,particularly in a high cockpit workload environment getting ready to land at Battersea.

I think the crane is a red herring for want of a better phrase.
You could have lit up the crane like Christmas. Human error is the cause here. Mistakes happen. You can try to make a situation as safe as possible but life and human nature intervene. This is just an unfortunate accident and nothing more. We are all human. We are all fallible. Situations in life occur and accidents happen. It's life. Well, that's my opinion anyway.

[paul178]

and I totally agree with you hampden98.

[Orion]

...

This is just an unfortunate accident and nothing more.

...

Disagree. This incident was caused by a respected and experienced pilot discounting the risks; he ought not to have been flying VFR in those conditions. Why he chose to do so will probably never be known, but as I said in an earlier post rotary and fixed wing aircraft quite often fly over or near to my house in North Harrow, scudding in very marginal conditions with Harrow Hill just to the south. The practice ought to be stopped.

Regards

[paul1867]

Whilst this accident does raise interesting questions we should remember that very sadly two people lost their lives and we should be sensitive to the feelings of relatives and friends. Perhaps we should only discus facts in evidence and general concerns whilst we await the conclusions of the accident investigation.

[The Blue Max]

Disagree. This incident was caused by a respected and experienced pilot discounting the risks; he ought not to have been flying VFR in those conditions. Why he chose to do so will probably never be known, but as I said in an earlier post rotary and fixed wing aircraft quite often fly over or near to my house in North Harrow, scudding in very marginal conditions with Harrow Hill just to the south. The practice ought to be stopped.

Regards

Oh I do love an arm chair expert.

[paul178]

I will wait until the AAIB final report before commenting further other than to say its a great shame that two people lost their lives in this and the person on the ground can have no blame attached to him!

[ZRX61]

I think the crane is a red herring for want of a better phrase.
You could have lit up the crane like Christmas. Human error is the cause here.

It always is when the guy isn't around to speak for himself.

[~Alan~]

I will wait until the AAIB final report before commenting further ................

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources...3%20G-CRST.pdf