helicopter crash in London
 

Apparantly not terrorist related, but it appears a helicopter has crashed into a crane in Vauxhall SW London.

Reports seeing a man jump from the stricken helicopter before it crashed to the ground, massive fires.

Live video on BBC

Scary stuff.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

2 dead and 9 injured 2 with serious injuries! Sounds like Nine Elms Road is blocked as well. South West London will be a nightmare.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/ja...l-live-updates

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Fact is that the 770 feet (AMSL) structure was NOTAMED (officially reported) and that the weather visibility wise at nearby airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and London City) was bad at the time of the accident, pretty cloudy (broken) at a hight lower than the structure and London City (that seemed to report the worst horizontal visibility) reporting 700 meter horizontal visibility at 0750 (the accident was reported to have happened just before 8).

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Err..ok.

Does that mean that the pilot couldn't see shit ahead of him and the tower wasn't flashing lights or on a map?

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

It means he probably shouldn't have been flying. There is no way - given the conditions - that he would have been able to see the red lights on the crane.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

The top of the structure (the crane) was not higher than 770 feet above mean sea level (approximately the same as above ground level in London).

When trying to find out weather you look at the weather at nearby airports that do report weather.

The base of the clouds that were almost, but not entirely, covering the sky were lower than the top of the structure (the crane).

Of the aforementioned airports the worst horizontal visibility was at London City, reported at 0750 in the morning. If you at that time stood on the ground at London City airport and looked at something close to the ground and in the distance you would only see things that are not more than about 700 meters (about 700 yards) away.

The structure (crane) was only supposed to be lit at night.

A message had been going out to inform everyone within aviation that the structure (crane) was there.

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Rumours are that the helicopter was flying from Redhill to Elstree but probably due to weather was diverted to the Battersea (London Heliport) to land. Weather (visibility) was bad and the helicopter crashed into a crane that is officially known but is normally not there.

London Ambulance confirmed that the pilot onboard deceased and one person that was outside of the helicopter also deceased. Other injuries have occured. Tragic.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Thanks. Intersting information.

As you say, tragic event.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

The videos popping up everywhere are shocking. So many bystanders hanging around filming it! I'd have thought breathing in the fumes from fuel, plastic and upholstery was going to give them lung problems. Also, if it had been a terrorist incident, it's frequent to set a second bomb off to catch onlookers and emergency services when they race to the scene.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

NOTAM - Notice To Airmen:
A notice containing information concerning the establishment, position or change to any aeronautical facility, service, procedure or hazard, the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel engaged in flight operations.

So there was information out there about it but did the pilot note it on his map?

I suspect (and this is merely speculation) that the pilot was flying under VFR (Visual Flight Rules) but the weather was not VMC (Visual Meteorological Conditions) and he should have been IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) under IMC.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Yeah, but Battersea only allows VFR/SVFR traffic, meaning somewhat simplified that the pilot needs better outside references (e.g. better weather) and can't rely on instruments in the aircraft showing predefined "routes in the air".

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Info I've gleaned from one of my professional websites is that the aircraft was diverting from Elstree to Battersea due to bad weather. Very very experienced pilot with thousands of hours and varied experience. Looks like the holes all lined up just right :(

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

Sounds about right, I was writing something along those lines earlier too.

It's not the first time something bad happened to an experienced pilot.

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

The Mail is reporting that the crane operator who is never late was late this time, the only thing that saved him.

Some DM commenters are saying that far from the crane operator being lucky, if he had been on time, the boom would have been in a different position and the helicopter may not have struck it, so the crane op's tardiness led to the crash.:eek:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-gear-box.html

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

wait until they discover he's black as well

horrible rag

Re: helicopter crash in London
 

It's however true that objects that move are normally easier to spot. Regarding the "rag", wait until you hear some accident investigators' black humour (as a way to cope with what they see).