EC120 accident - Oxfordshire 28 May 2022
 

Four people travelling in a helicopter that crash-landed in a garden were able to escape to safety before emergency services arrived.

Paramedics treated the occupants after the aircraft landed on its side in Denton, near Garsingston, Oxfordshire, at about 13:00 BST on Saturday.

Its pilot cut the helicopter's battery and fuel lines and firefighters did further work to ensure it was safe.

The incident is being investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

Photos in linked article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...shire-61623706

Looks like it was on a pre-marked landing area.

I guess a tennis court could double up as a landing pad!

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....477883bb6.jpeg
Used to be G SWNG

Interesting/strange that the reg has been scrubbed out of the BBC photos.

Another case of wonderfully inept reporting, saying the pilot cut the fuel lines and the battery. Perhaps "shut off" would be more applicable?

Now, what would be wrong with that? It does not look like the Wimbledon from the photos… perfectly flat and out in the open.
Maybe better on the other side of the fence???

Not really - in fact it is pretty much standard practice for reasons of privacy etc

If there were pictures of a car involved in a road accident then the number plates would similarly be blocked out.

if you wrapped your car around a tree i'd imagine that you would prefer that your name and address not be promulgated in the medial should the event happen to make the papers.

I thought it was a tennis court!

It probably is. The point was that it appears that the pilot had planned in advance to land there, rather than it being an emergency landing choice.

It doesn't look as though it has hit the deck hard as the skids look ok. Is this the result of an unbriefed PAX helping themselves into the front seat, using the cyclic as a convenient hand hold?

Ground resonance..?

Looks like it was during shutdown as those blades have only struck once as it has rolled over, unless someone was very quick on the throttle.

The tail boom looks like it has been hit hard on the ground - enough to snap it - and then scraped the broken end on the ground as it yawed/rolled over.

Unexpected input to the control is a definite possibility given the ground is flat, level and looks firm.

Wondering if inadvertent aft cyclic just after selecting idle on the engine might have enough control power to tip the aircraft back quickly enough to smash the tail in.