Inquest: Lynx Crash
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Inquest: Lynx Crash
A British Army helicopter commander has told how he leaned out of the window of his smoke-filled aircraft and steered away from houses moments before crashing.
Lt Colonel Murray Whiteside was the only survivor the crash in which three British Army colleagues from Squadron 657 died.
He has told the jury at an inquest in Leicester he had battled to keep the Lynx helicopter under control after it had suffered catastrophic engine failure.
The accident happened near the village of Tilton on the Hill in Leicestershire in May 1999.
A board of inquiry was set up to investigate the accident which found that the pilot acted "competently and professionally" in trying to get the aircraft down.
But it added: "Tragically, despite their best efforts, the crew were unable to prevent this accident."
Lt Col Whiteside told the inquest there had been a problem with the engine oil pressure gauge, but the instrument was renown for being "notoriously unreliable."
He said during the flight, which left from the men's base at Dishforth, North Yorkshire, to RAF Odiham, Hampshire, the needle on the gauge had moved into the amber zone but then flicked back into the green area.
Fifty minutes into the flight the crew heard a loud bang and one of the aircraft's two gas-turbine engines failed.
Those killed in the accident were Sgt Major Andrej Prenczek, 33, Staff Sgt Stuart Donnan, 38, and Staff Sgt Peter Clyne, 34.
[ 20 October 2001: Message edited by: Heliport ]
Lt Colonel Murray Whiteside was the only survivor the crash in which three British Army colleagues from Squadron 657 died.
He has told the jury at an inquest in Leicester he had battled to keep the Lynx helicopter under control after it had suffered catastrophic engine failure.
The accident happened near the village of Tilton on the Hill in Leicestershire in May 1999.
A board of inquiry was set up to investigate the accident which found that the pilot acted "competently and professionally" in trying to get the aircraft down.
But it added: "Tragically, despite their best efforts, the crew were unable to prevent this accident."
Lt Col Whiteside told the inquest there had been a problem with the engine oil pressure gauge, but the instrument was renown for being "notoriously unreliable."
He said during the flight, which left from the men's base at Dishforth, North Yorkshire, to RAF Odiham, Hampshire, the needle on the gauge had moved into the amber zone but then flicked back into the green area.
Fifty minutes into the flight the crew heard a loud bang and one of the aircraft's two gas-turbine engines failed.
Those killed in the accident were Sgt Major Andrej Prenczek, 33, Staff Sgt Stuart Donnan, 38, and Staff Sgt Peter Clyne, 34.
[ 20 October 2001: Message edited by: Heliport ]
