Mobile phone cause emergency
Found over on Rumours and News
Mobile phone forces emergency landing of helicopter
A CIVILIAN helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at Baldonnel airbase outside Dublin after a mobile phone became jammed in its controls in a bizarre incident.
It happened after a mobile phone belonging to the pilot fell off the rear seat of the helicopter and slipped underneath the cockpit floor becoming wedged against the rudder controls.
A concrete runway at Baldonnel was rapidly flooded with a blanket of foam by the Air Corps crash rescue service as the helicopter pilot used up fuel before attempting a landing.
After the pilot sought advice from Air Corps helicopter pilots, the British registered Eurocopter EC-120 light helicopter landed on the runway before turning uncontrollably and coming to a halt off the foam blanket without damage.
The emergency landing was revealed yesterday in a report published by the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Public Enterprise.
The report recommended that the helicopter manufacturers, Eurocopter, should consider amending the flight manual to point out the danger of lose articles in the cabin entering the underfloor area and jamming the controls.
:o :o :o