Naughty, naughty!
 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3022948.stm

Not really much excuse is there!

Helicopter pilot's bridge stunt

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image..._bridge203.jpg

Police and aviation officials have launched a search for a helicopter pilot who flew under the 100ft high Skye Bridge.
Local people and tourists crossing the bridge at the time watched in astonishment as an aircraft skimmed the water below them. The stunt happened on two successive days and an eyewitness said he believed it was the same aircraft responsible for both incidents. It is illegal to fly within 500ft of the structure.
Last year a pilot avoided prosecution for flying his light plane under the bridge after claiming he only did so to avoid a flock of seagulls. Locals believe any collision between an aircraft and the £25m bridge would be catastrophic as it is the only road link to the mainland. They claim Skye's ferry service would not be able to cope with the extra load if the bridge is damaged and closed down.
What would happen if it hit the bridge? Without it, we wouldn't have a link to the mainland.
Kyleakin resident Ian Sikorski witnessed both incidents and reported them to police. He said: "I saw the first one on Saturday, 14 June and then the very next day, another one did exactly the same. "There's not an awful lot of distance between the bridge and the water so it's a very dangerous practice. "It appears to be the same helicopter. "What would happen if it hit the bridge? Without it, we wouldn't have a link to the mainland." He added: "There's only two ferries still operating but they would never cope with the volume of traffic here at the height of the season."
Bridge closure
Skye Bridge manager Russell Thompson added: "We are very concerned - any aircraft striking the bridge, no matter what size, would close the bridge down until our engineers and the Scottish Executive could assess the damage. "A decision would then have to be made on the advisability of re-opening it." Inspector Andy Brown, of the Northern Constabulary, said he was concerned that it might set a precedence of people wanting to take a joyride under the bridge. He added: "From a police perspective, if an aircraft hits the bridge we have a major incident to deal with. "We would have to recover persons from the water in terms of any fatalities or injuries, as well as dealing with the crashed aircraft itself. "There would also be the major issue of integrity of the bridge which could see it closed, effectively cutting off the entire island in the winter months."
Civil Aviation Authority inspectors have been informed of both incidents and they are checking all flight information and air traffic radio transmissions which could lead them to the culprit.

Hope you don't mind me adding a poll to your post Whirlygig.
I thought it would be interesting to see where the concensus would fall between the hardliners and the more forgiving posters.
Heliport

And the helicopter spotter is one Mr I. Sikorski....

And if it wasn't the good ol' Beeb, I'd think they were havin' a larf with that name!! :)

It wasn't me !!!!!

Skye Bridge underfly!!
 

Beeb R4 1800 News reports that a helicopter was flown under the centre span of the Isle of Skye road bridge. It went on to report that this was the second time in 2(?) days! - not necessarily by the same pilot. Centre span clearance, apparently, 100'. Further said that this had been done last year by a plank wing who escaped prosecution having claimed that it was a bird avoidance manoeuvre. :confused:
Comments?

Very apt name for the eyewitness :)

Hee hee hee. :D
It's nice to see there's someone with a bit of the ol' barnstorming spirit left in aviation in spite of all the thousands of rules and regs the nannies control the rest of us with.
What a load of melodramatic baloney about hitting the bridge. If any pilot isn't capable of flying safely through a 100 foot gap he shouldn't be flying.

Hope the CAA don't find him.

Loved the bit about the guy who got off saying he was avoiding a flock of seagulls. ;) ;)

It was probably a Bell, Hughes or maybe a Eurocopter, hence the report to the police by MR SIKORSKI:}

And to think what used to happen under a certain bridge in the heart of San Diego......

This one by any chance?


Good to see you on line V. You should post more often.

I hope he paid the toll for crossing under the bridge. Usual melodramatic press coverage. If a light helicopter can structurally damage a cantilever bridge such as this then it hasn't been well designed.

In a former life I have flown under the Severn Bridge, the cantilever bridge at Pembroke in S Wales and the Kessock bridge by Inverness looking for "jumpers". It is perfectly safe to do and my biggest fear was that some kind member of the public may have tried to drop a brick through my rotor!!:(

HF

I doubt seriously that a light helo or airplane could actually bring down a bridge by impacting it, but the concern of the people living on the island is extremely valid.

This is from memory so I hope the details are close.

My then future wife and I had a vacation planned in late October of 2001 at South Padre Island in far south Texas. Airline tickets were bought, deposit on the condo was paid, etc. About a week after 9-11, a barge got outside the channel and hit the one and only bridge connecting the island to the mainland, and knocked down 2 long spans, killing 5 people. Needless to say, after 9-11 and the bridge going down, I followed events pretty closely praying the vacation could be salvaged.

There are about 5000 people who reside on the island, most of whom work off the island, and many of the employees who work the tourist businesses on the island, live off the island. So the disruption was terrific.

Boats were able to carry people and supplies back and forth to the mainland right away, but it took several days to get 2 small car ferries to the island. Then for several more days they were used strickly to get stranded cars off the island. Then for several more days, they were used to get resident's cars to the mainland, so they could drive to work after the passenger boats carried them back and forth each day.

It wasn't until mid October that enough large ferries were brought into the area that they finally allowed 2-way car traffic to and from the island to be carried on the ferries. We arrived on the island about 2 weeks later. They had no gasoline on the island (all the tanks at the stations were dry), so we got on the ferry in the rental car with a full gas tank, and did not use it all before we returned to the mainland near the end of the vacation. By the time we arrived, most of the businesses were open, but many had reduced hours of operation, and the island was unusually quite.

The disruption was enormous economically for both residents and the local tourist businesses, and after the bridge was repaired (took about 4 months), the city government started work on funding the construction of a second bridge.

So the concerns of the people who both live on the island, and who profit from the island's tourism, is extremely valid.

Oh come on, a barge? Versus a light helicopter?

Hilico, I agree. I'm just saying that this is what the local community there is worried about. This is also probably why the law exists concerning a 500ft flight restriction near the bridge.

When I first saw the story on BBC online, I had to smile but then my serious side took over.

I think it was a silly thing to do not least because of safety but stunts like this do not do anything to improve the image of GA in the eyes of the public. (I assume he/she is a GA pilot - I can't believe a commercial pilot would take such risks).

Whether the public's concerns are valid or not is irrelevant; their concern is real in their eyes.

As a student PPL(H), I am surprised, nay shocked, at the results of the poll. [Heliport - of course I don't mind you adding a poll - it has been an eye opener].

Maybe I have a lot to learn(?)

Whirlygig

That's the one F.L.!!

Sadly nowadays our military friends aren't so accomodating with their airspace.

Were you flying chase in an R22 for that shot?!

Possibly the difference between something appearing to be dangerous and actually being dangerous? The fact that something is unlawful doesn't necessarily mean it's dangerous.
Maybe some of the votes reflect a sneaking admiration even though the voters wouldn't do it themsleves?

No - I was in a 206 when it overtook! ;)

Such a shame about the new security measures. It used to be the ultimate 'Trip Round the Bay'.

FL

It wasn't long ago that ppruners were discussing the terrible events in Germany when a pilot had done the same thing, except he misjudged the clearance and killed himself, the crew and the casualty that they were supposed to be taking care of.

In this intance the bridge looks a little higher, but the difference between a hero and a dead idiot can be a couple of feet.

As with all stunts, its all fun and games until someone loses an eye! Would it have been BARNSTORMING SPIRIT if it had gone horribly wrong?


(According to the reports, the bridge is 100 feet over the water. Heliport.)