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Announcement from Fly Q
It is with sadness that we announce that our dear friends and colleagues, Martin Rutty and Simon Lichtenstein, died yesterday. The Robinson R22 helicopter crashed shortly after take off from Sospel, Nice, coming down in the densely wooded Tourrettes-sur-Loup valley.
They had left Sospel at 9.00 am on a bright and clear day bound for Avignon. Eyewitness reports indicate catastrophic mechanical failure exacerbated by strong headwinds. The authorities at Nice have started their investigation and family members will be travelling to France over the course of the next few days.
Martin and Simon have been long term pilots, flying together since 1999. They were highly experienced pilots having held four British championship titles and represented the British Helicopter Team in the past four world championships, most recently in Belarus. Presently, we do not know who was piloting the helicopter.
Our thoughts and sympathies are with Martin's and Simon's families.
10th December 2010