Helicopter down in Belgium

[OlliBlue]

Sad news , 5 people killed
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/957/Belgi/article/detail/115869/2007/12/26/Vijf-doden-bij-helikoptercrash-in-Merchtem.dhtml
Father (pilot), mother and their 2 daughters , and a family friend.
Helicopter was on the way back to Kortrijk-Wevelgem (EBKT) when it came down
RIP , a very sad day

[HeliCraig]

What a terrible shame - especially at this time of year. RIP all those aboard.

Does anybody have a translation of the news report, or more details of the a/c involved?

[Jetscream 32]

looks like a single turbine - very sad :sad:

[skadi]

It was a Bell 206 ( Reg N678LW ). The father was the pilot, accompanied by his wife, son, daughter and a female friend of one of the kids.
As far as i understood the newsarticle, wirestrike and bad weather are considered as accident cause??

Sad news

skadi

[Helipoc]

Bell 206
www.airliners.net/open.file/0932837/L/
Very tragic..


edit: posted at the same time.

[OlliBlue]

Just watched news report , seems like the b206 came down in heavy fog, hit a power line, and crashed nose down
Father, mother, daughter 21 and son 24 years old, girlfriend 24 years old
Pilot owned a company called APM, providing technical support and overhaul for Pratt & Whitney JT3D and JT8D engines, based at EBKT.

[delta3]

Very very sad day indeed.

Apparently tried to avoid powerlines in bad vis.

Condolencies to all related.

d3

[manfromuncle]

Very sad. I have noticed that private owners/jobs combined with poor weather seem to be over represented in fatal crashes.

[ShyTorque]

Dear, oh dear; such terrible, terrible news.

I think I am possibly seen as sometimes over-cautious by my main customer; but this sort of accident continues to happen every year.

Forgive me for saying this, possibly prematurely, but I get do very tired of thinking it.... this sort of accident only goes to show (yet again) how unforgiving the airborne environment is when someone attempts VFR ops in unsuitable weather conditions, especially in a helicopter.

Better to make a safe plan (with a less convenient backup idea for transport by other means if required) than to end up in a corner beyond either the capabilities of the pilot, or the machine, the plan, or a combination of all.
:( :*

[Billywizz]

Delta 3 quote
'Apparently tried to avoid powerlines in bad vis.'

would be better to avoid bad visibilty period

Tragic accident but unlikely to be the last.