BBC carrying headlines of a mid air between a light aircraft and a helicopter over Hertfordshire.

A helicopter and a light aircraft have been involved in a mid-air collision above fields in Hertfordshire.
A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said the accident took place above Welham Green just before 1300 BST on Tuesday.

Both crash landed in separate fields in the Dixons Hill Road area near Hatfield.

Full details of the accident are not yet known and it is not clear if there were any casualties. Police are asking people to avoid the area.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/b...ts/3870629.stm
Edit: Sorry the link only gives the same info. you have given.

BBC News Ticker now reporting that 2 people are dead and 2 are injured.

apparently, a helicopter, operated by Cabair Cranfield and a microlight- ( 2 fatalities)

Are you sure about one being a microlight? The ITV news link mentioned 'microlight' but all the news items still refer to it as being a light aircraft

Its proving to be a very black week for private flying

Our SR22 was flying this morning, and also had a close shave with a Senaca.

She was doing some general training in the open FIR, at about FL40. They were monitoring Brize Radar, and heard the Senaca on frequency being advised (far too late it would seem) that they had traffic at 1 o'clock same level less than a mile.

At this time in the SR22, the SkyWatch system was already alerting, changing the target (closing head on at about 300knots) to yellow and screaming "Traffic Traffic" over the intercom.

Both our pilots started scanning ahead about 20 seconds before impact, and after aquiring the target visually took avoiding action.

I believe that if it was not for Skywatch and Mode C transponders, we would have had 2 mid-airs today.

We need better radar services or compulsory transponders....

Welham Green is close to the BPK VOR.

It may have nothing at all to do with this tragic accident, but the 'honeypot' effect always worries me a little, especially around (and beneath) the London TMA.

I live over the road from Welham green, i haven't seen anything but apparently the emergency services could be heard for a very long time.
I think all our thoughts should be with the families following this tragic accident before we start debating about radar control services etc.

God Bless.

Chris Fleet & Family

It was an R22 and a flexwing microlight. Both occupants of the microlight were killed.

How can something like this happen in perfect viz?

Seeing is one thing avoiding another. I often see gliders under the London TMA, it's always difficult working out which way they're going to be headed when you get close and it's not always easy to give them a wide birth without a gigantic detour.

Bar Shaker, I believe most "mid-airs" occur in good visibility.

I don't think that mid airs are necessarily caused by stupidity. Yesterday an aircraft flew about <50ft under me from my 01:00 position. I didn't notice it till i saw a white flash @ 08:00 low. I had just completed a steep turn so there's no way i would have seen him, and he was a high wing aircraft and he wouldn't have seen me until the last few seconds. Luckily we were both a few feet above/below 4000'.
While the Mk.1 eyeball is inadequate for maintaining adequate traffic avoidance in the busy airspace we have today. Unfortunately most collision avoidance systems are to expensive for GA. Until someone comes up with an affordabl system, we should use the facilities we have available to us to the maximum: RAS, RIS, FIS, Listening Watch, and most importantly switch on your bl@@dy XPDRs. Most useless things in aviation :altitude above you, fuel in the bowser, RWY bhind you and a transponder on OFF/STBY. There's an increasing no of airliners flying into airport in class G e.g. coventry. I think all aircraft that have mode C onboard must be required by law to operate them, just like head/taillights and cars.
condolences to the families, could have been me
Capt. M

Sunday I had someone overtake me from behind. He suddenly appeared at the top of my windscreen about 150 feet above.

Just for a moment let's assume he HAD seen me.

At some point I disappeared below his glareshield and it would have taken him some time to overhaul me. If during that time I had decided to climb we could have had some more fatalities. I would have remained out of his vision until I hit him.

If you are overtaking someone please keep him in view.

Eight fatalaties in little over a week is horrendous and we have a very busy weekend coming up.

Mike

My solutions to midairs are never fly at round number heights and when in congested areas get down in the vicinity of 1000 feet agl or lower.

Scary stuff and, as someone has said, Kemble this weekend. Abingdon was congested enough for me. I'm going to stay clear.

QDM

Awful week indeed, had a furkin' close shave today aswell near bedford, did not see the aircraft till he passed in front and only slightly lower, i did not even react just watched in disbelief as we crossed paths. There is no way the guy saw me because he made a radio call seconds later and unless he is the coolest dude in the world sounded perfectly calm.

I sometimes hate flying at the prospect of us all trying to find our own little space in the air.

On another lighter note, i was hitting a few golf balls at kingsway near melbourne and fowlmere aerodrome tonight about 7.50pm when a Merlin flew directly across the range at about 50ft spectacular but f@cked my shot.

Must say QDM x 3, your view on staying clear this w/end is the one I tend to support.

As far as I'm concerned (and this is NOT an open invitation for a flare) there are just too many a/c in just too small a space in too short a period of time.....

I'll either be cycling this w/end or heading the other way.

It worries me that some pilots will go to the rally without even a thought of the danger.

Some I know are not even getting the "big picture" around their local airfield.

Scotland sounds good to me this week end.

Tony

BBC News story has been updated to include:

RC

Fewer and fewer radar services of any sort will be available to aircraft flying outside controlled airspace because ATCOs, their bosses and particularly their paymasters are unwilling to accept the risk that if, for any slight reason, their service doesn't come up to scratch and there is an incident/accident/worse - then they could all be sent to prison. So why should we bother?