Helicopter down near sandtoft

[whatsarunway]

Anyone have any info on this?

Hope all ok.

[Flaxton Flyer]

R22 sadly one fatal.

[VeeAny]

All I can find is a SKy News report Pilot is thought to have been killed in helicopter crash in Doncaster | UK News | Sky News (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Pilot-is-thought-to-have-been-killed-in-helicopter-crash-in-Doncaster/Article/200902215223122)


What can I say but I am truly saddened.

[Shunter]

If as Sky report it came from Leeds I saw it departing when I was up there just before lunchtime :(

[R44-pilot]

Seems to be pretty much at Sandoft.... departing maybe? RIP, suppose to be one of the best days of his life......

Helicopter crashes near small airfield 'killing pilot on first solo flight' | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1145492/Helicopter-crashes-near-small-airfield-killing-pilot-solo-flight.html)

[JTobias]

Not good, not happy, RIP to the pilot and we should also spare a thought for the flying instructor who is probably feeling dreadful!

Joel

[pplh]

Unconfirmed reports that it was the persons first solo.

[Torquetalk]

Unconfirmed reports that it was the persons first solo

Unlikely unless the flight was intended to be a circuit at Sandtoft. Otherwise, more likely a first solo Navex or first X-country field to field.

very sad whichever.

[tyl3r]

...also spare a thought for the flying instructor who is probably feeling dreadful!
Absolutely. He's a conscientious FI and will no doubt be as devastated as the family and friends of the student.

[jumpseater]

Unlikely unless the flight was intended to be a circuit at Sandtoft. Otherwise, more likely a first solo Navex or first X-country field to field.

Beeb talking head reported A/C flew in from another airfield, instructor got out, accident happened shortly after departure on 'first solo' flight IIRC. The departure airfield may not allow first solo's, some airfields don't. Eye/ear witnesses reported according to the reporter hearing a bang and 'the tail going up'

[helimutt]

Tragic news. My condolences. I worked out of Sandtoft for a while and this is just too close to home! Literally.

[funfinn2000]

So sad, RIP

[Mike Bathurst]

Thoughts to his family and friends and to the good people who tried to revive him. God bless.

[boatpro]

RIP to the pilot and condolences to family and freinds, really is too close to home for me with my first solo in a couple of weeks, really focus's the mind.

[Geoff Vader]

It was not first solo.

Condolosanses to the family of the chap.

Also my thoughts are with his instructor who is a top notch bloke and I can only imagine what hes going through at the moment :(.

[j21k]

Was only there last week, Nikki in the tower @ sandtoft was fantastic. Felt a little anctious not flown for a while. Was trekking from tatenhill to beverley, Stopped for some fuel and a warm @ sandtoft. I would like to know what the loud crack noise was from ? anyone know the reg ? It worries me, why do we fly these things knowing the dangers ??? Thoughts to the instructor and to the family.

[Torquetalk]

At least one post here and another on the thread "best helicopter for training" has the feel of a journalist fishing.

j21k, flying an aircraft whilst semi-hypothermic sounds dangerous; why not fly a thing with heating? What do you fly?

The loud bang could be a structural failure, but this is very unlikely as the primary cause of an accident. Mast bumping is another possibility: teetering head helicopters can be susceptible to this phenomena; but this would not simply happen out-of-the-blue. Pilot incapacitation is possible, but also extraordinarily rare. A combination of events is also possible. The AIBB will conduct a very thorough investigation, and until the report, forum members can only speculate on what may have happened. But the bottom line is; we don't know.

TT

[pplh]

Apparently a Multiflight aircraft operating out of Leeds Bradford. The only R22 registered to their name is G-FIRS, which is white in colour and this would coincide with the colour of the aircraft shown in the picture of the wreckage. RIP and again my thoughts are with his family and friends.

'Loud crack' is only one mans interpretation of the noise and could be any number of things and so speculation in this area won't really gain anything, however all I can say is that, if the engine was still running, it must have been a very loud crack for somebody to have heard it from a fair distance.

[Geoff Vader]

The only R22 registered to their name is G-FIRS

They also have G-TTHC which I believe is the machine in question.

[VfrpilotPB/2]

J21K
I hate to sound a little testicular, but please remember a fellow hopeful pilot has lost his/her life due to something going wrong, this is not the place or time to go into details about your finger nails.

We all fly Helicopters because we like the freedom and have (or should) the skill to master this sort of flying machine, accidents will happen it is sad this person has come to grief, but try not to prejudge what the reason was, or what the outcome of investigations will produce!

It is very sad news for the entire fraternity of Pilots.


Peter R-B
Vfrpilotpb/2

[m0rt1L]

Can anyone remember what the thread subject was about?

I suggest all STFU and have some respect.

Very Very Sad

RIP

[Tarman]

Don' take that bait guys. Anyone who hijacks a thread relating to the death of a fellow aviator in order to spout about his own prejudices is clearly more to be pitied than taken seriously. Let’s get the thread back on track.



BarbiesBoyfriend and his Jet Blast comments are neither clever nor wanted in this thread. They (and the responses) have been removed.

Senior Pilot

[206Fan]

Only seen this on the news last night, brung a tear to my eye. :( RIP!

Dave

[j21k]

Nobody knows what went wrong, I would like to think that any information regarding the cause of the acccident will help towards preventing another. I wouldnt like to imagine how the people relating to the incident are feeling. It is a sad day when people are leaving petty messages regarding this unfortunate incident. As a newly qualifed PPL (H) rated on a R22 I was expressing how I felt when flying round on my own for the first few times. The reason I commented on the crack sound after having my machine in for a service there was an issue with one of the main rotors de laminating. As fellow pilots we should all assist in any way possible to ensure saftey is paramount.

[r44flyer]

What a great shame.

The first thing I thought of when I read the comments on the 'crack' followed by loss of the tail was that the pilot was overcontrolling, for whatever reason, and chopped his own tail rotor off.

[theavionicsbloke]

Possible, however you may notice from the pictures that the tail boom appears to be very close to the fuselage. If the tail boom had of been chopped off in flight then wouldn't the tail boom and fuselage of landed on the ground in different locations ?

[r44flyer]

Possibly, it might not have been completely severed, though. Hitting it hard enough that it loses its structural integrity would be enough.

[Whirlybird]

helimutt,

j21k, if he's who I'm almost certain he is, does indeed fly helicopters. But he's a low hours, very new PPL(H) who's understandably a little concerned as to the reason for this tragic accident. Be gentle with him. ;)

And j21k, if you were as overloaded by that trip as it sounds, perhaps you should make haste a little more slowly, don't you think?

[B.U.D.G.I.E]

Thoughts go out to the family and the instructor, who I am sure is truely saddened.

[j21k]

Whirlybird,

Excellent advice.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the trip home.

[FLY 7]

Most people's first concerns will be for the pilot, his family, the instructor and the immediate fraternity.

Then, inevitably, those with a vested interest will want to seek clarity on the cause, to understand why it happened and what might have pevented it. Of course one would hope the AAIB report will be conclusive, but this could take months.

In the meantime, there will be speculation and conjecture, and it again raises questions about helicopter safety and, specifically, the Robinsons' record. Once we have clarification we will be in a better position to judge.

[Phil77]

Who said the tailboom came off?
The witness stated that it came down tail first, not without a tail.

Yes the seat structure is supposed to collapse to safe your spine... yea, right! :(

[FlyGooseFly!]

Very sad news - condolences to the pilot's kin but my heart goes out to the F.I.

I can only guess at what he's going through now after experiencing a thousand emotions between my daughter departing the plate from her spririted event horse ( that I put her on ) her hitting the ground but thankfully, getting up shortly after not much worse for wear.

Every trainers worst nightmare.

[ericferret]

Spare a thought for the maintenance people. They will be going through it until they hear that the accident was not a maintenance issue.

In a 35 year career I have been there on a couple of occasions. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

[hoverjim]

I heard it was definitly this copter.
Griffin Helicopters | Accident Details | R22 G-TTHC 09 Jan 1999 (http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/accidentdetails.asp?accidentkey=1880)
G-TTHC involved in problems a few years ago...
Not sure of this accident but quite likely with the current weather....new pilot (lots to think about), forgetting carb heat...then failed autorotation?? seems very likely....R.I.P (nothing worse hearing about this as a new pilot myself. almost puts me off. but i know i wont give up...its the thrill. We hope to live long or to die doing something we love. lets hope this was the case)

[BT777]

Good evening,

The BBC have an update to this incident now:

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Humber | Crash helicopter pilot identified (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/humber/7892976.stm)


A trainee pilot who was killed when his helicopter plunged into a field has been named.
Kim Carter, 54, from Bradford, died when the Robinson R22 aircraft crashed on land next to the M180 at Sandtoft, North Lincolnshire, on Saturday.
Mr Carter had had only four hours of solo flying and was on his sixth solo flight when the crash happened.
Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) experts have removed the wreckage for examination.
The helicopter was owned by the Multiflight aviation company, based at Leeds-Bradford Airport.
'Training flight'
Director Miles Beechan said the two-seater helicopter had left Leeds-Bradford on a "routine training flight" with an instructor on board and had performed a number of circuits from Sandtoft during the morning.
The accident happened on Mr Carter's fourth solo circuit of the afternoon.
In a statement, Mr Beechan added: "Mr Carter had approximately 65 hours of dual flight time on the aircraft type and four hours solo time. The accident flight was his sixth solo flight.
"Multiflight wish to pass on their sympathy to the friends and family of Mr Carter and we are co-operating fully with the AAIB in their investigation into this tragic incident."
Farmer and light aircraft pilot David Cundall, 59, said he was about half a mile (800m) away when he saw the aircraft crash.
He said: "I immediately drove over and on the way got passing motorists to stop and help.
"When I got there the pilot was still strapped into his seat and the canopy of the helicopter was split open.
"It was obvious he had serious injuries and there was nothing I could do for him."
Sandtoft is 16 miles (26km) from Doncaster in South Yorkshire and 12 miles (19km) from Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire.

[FLY 7]

Helicopter crash pilot was a novice solo flyer - Yorkshire Post (http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Helicopter-crash-pilot-was-a.4984315.jp)

[theavionicsbloke]

I see that Multiflight (I assume as a mark of respect) have removed the picture of G-FIRS from their website.

http://www.multiflight.com/flight-training-centre/our-aircraft.php (http://www.multiflight.com/flight-training-centre/our-aircraft.php)

Unfortunately, the web tech removed the thumbnail but forgot to remove the link to the actual photograph! :ugh:

If anybody here has contacts at MF can they kindly let them know please.

Condolences to all involved....

[EBC-S9]

To above.

The image for FIRS has been broken for several months and no image nor desription has ever been places for TTHC.

[notreallyanyone]

Robinson R-22 Beta, G-TTHC, Multiflight Ltd (http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1071244/)

[EBC-S9]

It has not yet been confirmed to be that one though is it? As they have two.

I'm sure it will become apparent when i can see what is in the hanger next week.

[tyl3r]

Geoff Vader has already told us that it was G-TTHC (and he is close enough to know). Both G-FIRS and G-TTHC have very very similar paint schemes nowadays (G-INFO out of date), but looking at the pictures available, it looks to me like HC (mast painting). Finally, without wishing to reg-drop, when I landed HC on Tuesday it was immediately into engineering for oil change as RS is grounded with an engine problem.

However, I'm sure it doesn't really matter which machine it was. Kim still lost his life. His family and friends will be devastated and those who knew him sad that it happened to such an apparently decent chap. Let's hope that the investigation is quick to explain what happened so that we can all learn from it, and hopefully give the intructor concerned some comfort.

Multiflight have edited section(s) of their website - I notice that a news article and photograph that featured Kim, his instructor, an AAIB investigator and others was pulled on Monday daytime.

[Shunter]

It was HC. I saw student and instructor depart Leeds late morning in it.