PPRuNe Forums - Helicopter missing in the Mourne Mountains, & tributes to AJ

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I'm in Adelaide but at the time prescribed I'll raise a glass.

Till we all meet again mate, Rest in Peace.

Dress Code AJ's funeral

Want to thank you all again for the many stories and pictures posted on this blog by you all.
Dress code for the funeral: colour! When I first met Tony he was wearing an orange Ben Sherman shirt with purple /mauve hipster jeans and it has taken me nearly 38 years to tone him down!............... Thursday however is his day so feel free to express yourselves on the colour front. Will see all of you there. thanks Angie (AJ's wife)

I shall be away abroad and unable to attend, but I shall find time to pause for AJ's memory and to think of his family, and later to raise a glass or two in celebration of a great character, who will be greatly missed by the GA helicopter community.

I am sorry I will be unable to make Tony's funeral. My thoughts will be with his wife, his children all of his family and friends.
Our days at Soltau were a long time ago, but at least he did what he loved right to the end.

When I heard of the crash in the Mournes, I was shocked when the name was released. I knew AJ from about 1983 when I was a sprog QHI on Advanced Rotary at Wallop. Always a consummate professional with a sharp wit and a quick putdown to idiots, but a man who was always approachable by those he taught. No-one who ever heard him on the RT ever needed to hear his callsign to know it was him. A very sad loss to aviation, I'm not able to make the funeral but will raise a glass in his memory.

Fairwell to a True Gentleman

Dear Angie

So sorry to hear of your loss. AJ constantly berated my engineers throughout all my tours with him from Odiham to NI; he could blow a fuse like no other. His charm and manners enabled this great man to deliver the most profound put down in the kindest way. No matter how hard the tasking or foul the weather, he reminded us all of the importance of humour and manners. We shall all miss him.

My thoughts are with everyone today especially AJ's family...

Rest in Peace AJ and well done for your 10 page thread, you are clearly loved and now missed by many...

And The Lord cried out in vain....

"Who's got the remote ? "

"never mind t't remowt - ow' many hours av' ye got on NVG?"

I hope you all gave him a proper send-off!!

AJ was sent off by many, there was standing room only!
There was lots laughing and lots of tears.
There were sections read aloud in the Crem from this very thread and it seems to have brought great comfort to the family to have read about their beloved AJ!
The music ranged from Classical through "The Dam busters" and finished with "Those magnificent men in their flying machines" which had the desired effect of bringing a smile!
AJ was sent along his way with a Pork pie and a custard tart!

Take care AJ.

Saw this today, It seems that Our respect for the privicy of AJ's family and loved ones before his name was "officially" released lead some to read deeper into the silence than was actually needed.

At least the got "The Legend" bit right.

SECRECY SURROUNDING MYSTERY HELICOPTER CRASH IN IRELAND : Infowars Ireland

Almost a year since that terrible day.
Does anyone have the exact co-ordinates of the crash site? i am looking to walk the Mourne mountains later this year and I was hoping to lay something at the site. Maybe make a little rockpile and leave something to mark the site in rememberance?

HB999

Prince Charles' friend 'killed in helicopter crash after engine trouble' - Telegraph

Quote:

Prince Charles' friend 'killed in helicopter crash after engine trouble'
A helicopter which crashed killing three men, one a friend of the Prince of Wales, was suffering engine trouble, an inquest heard.

4:33PM BST 03 Oct 2011

Residents also said it seemed to be flying low before it hit the ground in the Mourne Mountains, Co Down, a year ago.

The prince's friend Charles Stisted, 47, chief executive of the Guards Polo Club at Windsor, was a passenger on the flight which was on its way back to England after the men attended a shooting party at an estate in Co Tyrone.

Construction company businessman and fellow polo player Ian Wooldridge, 52, and pilot Anthony Smith, 63, formerly of the RAF and army with service in Northern Ireland, also died.

A preliminary hearing was held at Belfast coroner's court today.

Coroner John Leckey summarised some of the evidence from residents near the crash site.

"The engine of the helicopter perhaps did not seem to be running smoothly and also seemed to be flying low," he said.

"As we know, the helicopter really disintegrated following the impact with the mountain."

An inquest will be held before a jury in February following the accident, which happened after a shooting session at the Baronscourt estate on the outskirts of Newtownstewart, 10 miles from Omagh, the home of the Duke of Abercorn.

Specialist units were deployed to work on the crash site, as debris from the helicopter was scattered across Shanlieve Mountain, between Hilltown and Rostrevor.

Mr Wooldridge, from Windlesham, Surrey, was also a member of the Guards Polo Club.

With his brother Graham, he ran a multi-million pound demolition and construction company and was a prominent figure in Dublin-based Harcourt Developments, a property company involved in the development of the Titanic Quarter in Belfast.

Mr Stisted was from London and Mr Smith from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

The inquest is expected to take a week and the jury will listen to two residents, who described hearing the engine and noticing the apparently low flight. They have already made witness statements.

It will also take evidence from a pathologist who examined the men's bodies and up to five experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

There will also be technical evidence about where the helicopter came down and from what height, barrister Jonathan Chambers for the pilot liability insurers said.

Four hill walkers who assisted in going to the scene of the crash site will also testify, the coroner said.

It was revealed by the coroner that one man who was member of the shooting party at Baronscourt and the last to see the three men in alive, declined to take a lift back to England as he had a social engagement in Co Donegal in the Irish Republic.

Witnesses from St Angelo airfield in Enniskillen, Co.Fermanagh, where the helicopter departed, will give evidence as well as police who recovered the bodies.

The AAIB report on the accident will be published in mid-November. A draft copy has already been completed.

Relatives of Mr Wooldridge and Mr Stisted were present in court today.

Prince Charles' friend 'killed in helicopter crash after engine trouble' - Telegraph

Oh thats all right then....... The coroner and media have all the right answers.

When will someone point out to coroners that staying quiet might be a good idea, and that you rarely hear a helicopte's engine, the noise is mostly from the main and tail rotors.

Makes me seethe :mad:

Quote:

"The engine of the helicopter perhaps did not seem to be running smoothly"

Was that the number one engine, number two engine, or both engines?

Wonder what it was, bad magneto or duff spark plug, carb icing....? :rolleyes:

Coroners and their courts are competent to do what they should do: which is determine the "cause of death" i.e. unlawful killing, accident, suicide etc. In those terms there is little doubt about this accident.

Their views about technical matters in specialist areas (such as the cause of an aviation accident) aren't worth much. With respect, they don't know what they are talking about and don't usually have suitable advisers. The AAIB guys/gals will of course be closer to the truth, but they may not have finished their investigation yet.

From what I recall of the wreckage, there may not be much physical evidence for the AAIB to get their teeth into.

It is a modern mistake to misunderstand what a coroner's court is for, largely perpetrated by the media.

Quote:

It is a modern mistake to misunderstand what a coroner's court is for, largely perpetrated by the media.

I fully understand what a coroner's court does.

I was, however, surprised that the coroner made such a statement about "the" engine for the media to report, prior to the release of the AAIB report.

Obviously, the A109 helicopter has two engines and is capable of flying on one. A "straightforward" single engine failure does not fit in with the circumstances of this accident.

Hopefully the AAIB report will shed some light on this tragedy.

I recall reading about this crash last year. At the time it was 'just another' helicopter accident and had no more meaning than any other.

10 days ago I drove through the Morne Mountains, admired the scenery, stopped for tea, chatted with some locals near Hilltown, and then headed back to Aldergrove for an afternoon flight. What a beautiful part of the world and how sad to read this.

My condolences to all.