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AS350 Crash caught live on TV, Auckland, NZ
Video here
Helicopter Crash On Auckland Viaduct Basin | Stuff.co.nz LATEST: The pilot of a helicopter which crashed in central Auckland while installing the Telecom Christmas tree has miraculously escaped without serious injuries. Pilot Greg Gribble, of Auckland firm Helisika Helicopters, assured his son he was OK on the way to hospital. The crew and pilot are OK, Telecom said. A St John ambulance spokesman said it was taking one person to Auckland City Hospital with minor to moderate injuries. Telecom wrote on Twitter: "Can confirm the helicopter that crashed was putting up our Xmas tree. We're really happy to confirm pilot and ground crew all OK." The accident around 10.30am was seen live on the TVNZ website as it was streaming the event. The seven-storey-high tree was being put up near the Te Wero Island bridge connecting the Viaduct and Wynyard Quarter on the waterfront. Fire communciations spokesman Tony McDonald said the pilot was the only person in the aircraft during the accident. "All it's basically done to him is spun him around like a car crash so he'll still have his wits about him." McDonald said they were bombarded with 111 calls as a result of the accident occuring in such a populated area. Five trucks and two specialist fire engines were at the scene including one equipped to deal with any fuel leaks though it did not appear the fuel had leaked at this stage. Civil Aviation had been informed, he said. The helicopter appeared to be hovering just above the ground when the accident happened. Witness Steve Hall said the helicopter appeared to be trying to lift a tower near the drawbridge. It then hovered below the tip of the tower where the blades clipped the connecting wire, threw the wire into the air and sent the helicopter into a spin before it crashed into the ground, with the cockpit pointing up into the air. Hall and several others, including Grant Cantlay were watching from a boat moored in the viaduct and said they remarked that the blades were getting close to the wire before they struck. They had seen one person get out of the crashed helicopter on to Te Wero Island in the viaduct, near where a number of superyachts are moored. The helicopter remains tangled in a tower. Fire, ambulance and police are at the scene. The Telecom Christmas tree has been an Auckland institution. Once erected, it was expected that more than 100,000 people would visit. It was scheduled to open on December 2. |
Heli crash caught on tape a few minutes ago in Downtown Auckland (New Zealand)
Gents;
Happened just a few minutes ago: Helicopter Crash On Auckland Viaduct Basin | Stuff.co.nz Cheers, Steve Engle |
I hope that Greg is OK: to see him out of the helicopter as it goes down, he is a lucky, lucky man to have survived :eek:
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Miraculous escape of both the pilot and crew on the ground:eek:
Sounds like the engine is chewing up all the gears inside the transmission! |
I hope he is ok.
I'd start thinking about buying a helmet... :eek: |
Sounds like he going to be okay.
C'mon you utility pilots - put your bloody helmets/bone domes whatever you want to call them - ON! And your shoulder harness - (RH drive)put left one over left shoulder and right one underneath your right armpit. Takes about an hour to get used to it but look at this video - he was nearly thrown clear out the right door at one stage! |
That is the best ad for wearing a helmet and your shoulder harness if ever i saw one.....
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Never mind the seat issues, with all the cables and masts around, what was he doing there in the first place??!!
20 years experience has clearly taught him nothing. :ugh: |
Glad he will be ok. Amazing video. Anyone else notice the pilot's seat fail right at the very start and he falls backwards in the cockpit , and then almost fell completely out of the machine. ?
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Why is the pilot wearing bloody hi-vis? The reflection of these garments from windows and instruments makes for dangerous flying - and rather undermines the hi-vis reasons for existence.....
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That seat like the helicopter Is poorly designed. Do that in a sikorsky or bell the seat stays put. clipped a tip & that was it. Poor pilot looked like a pimg pong ball.
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helidan,
he has a full harness,that is mandatory, and ends up on the back floor and is not wearing a helmet and is ok, so why is this a good add for either????:uhoh: |
I would suggest it is a good advert for harness and helmet because he is very lucky to be alive - despite appearing to wear neither.
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Deeper ,
What he is trying to say is he had only his lap belt on and no helmet , look how much he got knocked about THEREFORE wearing a helmet and shoulder harness is probably a good idea. |
Never mind the seat belts. Unbelievable how quickly the seat itself fails.
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Not the first time I've seen the seats fail, Poor design like the helicopter. No rollover protection either. Cool to fly just don't ball it up. Glad the pilots on the mend.
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Was it a seat back failure? or did the front floor lugs let go and the seat roll back and over. Either way he was very lucky and as others have said a great reason for wearing a helmet. Don't forget it was on a wharf so if it had gone in the drink-I don't think it would have been a good outcome.
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I've never worn a helmet in 20 years of helicopter flying, but after seeing a prang like that puts the issue into clearer perspective.
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Here are some pics HeliOps shot showing the helo afterwards, very lucky guy.
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d/IMG_0010.jpg http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d/IMG_0015.jpg http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d/IMG_0016.jpg http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g1...d/IMG_0017.jpg |
Alternate footage has just been released by tv3 news and is at the end of this video. It confirms that one of the cables struck the rotor
Auckland helicopter crash: new footage - National - Video - 3 News |
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