teeteringhead
I take your point about the risk of there being a helicopter in the Helilanes. I assumed Double Zero was referring to the public on the ground.
BOAC
“on that basis, we could fly a 747 through there”
No.
Not a –400; even a -100, -200 or –300 would have literally just a few feet width clearance so there would be a real risk of colliding with one of the towers.
“isn't all 'risk' when no accident occurs, 'fanciful'?”
No.
eg If a drunk driver drives along a crowded shopping street at 70 mph there is a real risk he may cause injury or damage. Even if neither damage nor injury was actually caused, the risk was nonetheless real and not fanciful.
'Fanciful' means over-imaginative. We frequently see fanciful (or unrealistic or hypothetical) risks alleged in melodramatic tabloid press reports (and in some posts on PPRuNe) about aviation incidents. They often include the ‘What if ………..’ variety.
Tim McLelland
These days, in a country where it'll probably be declared illegal to get out of bed without a Health & Safety assessment soon, we need more people like him.
Warmtoast
Personally if I was a pedestrian on or near Tower Bridge at the time I’d much prefer the risk assessor deciding to fly over rather than through the bridge.
Personally, I would love to have seen it, whether from the bridge or (very) near.
All your Vampire at Bristol story illustrates is that accidents do happen. Nobody can deny that's true but it's no reason IMHO to try to eliminate all risks. If we spent our lives worrying about Murphy coming along, the world would be a dull place. We seem to be moving in that direction worryingly quickly. (See TM's post.)
If Neil Williams was actually doing that over the crowd (difficult to tell from the photographs) then I agree with your criticism.
His ability to fly accurately when inverted saved his life in 1970:
Zlin wing Structural Failure Report - Neil Williams
That said, he did have a bit of a reputation for taking risks which were too great. Some say that's what eventually killed him; whether it was 'pressonitis' leading him to take a weather risk or a simple navigation error, it was a ferry flight not a display.
H.