Wednesday, January 16, 2013

"Fly with your new wings": Tributes paid to Vauxhall helicopter crash pilot who flew in James Bond movies

The helicopter spun out of control and crash-landed near Vauxhall station after the pilot attempted to divert the aircraft to a helipad due to bad weather
A helicopter pilot who died today in a crash in central London that claimed the life of one other person and injured several others has been named as Pete Barnes.
Mr Barnes, who has piloted helicopters in action scenes in movies Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan, worked for flight operator RotorMotion.
The helicopter spun out of control and crash-landed near Vauxhall station after the pilot attempted to divert the aircraft to a helipad due to bad weather.
The AgustaWestland 109 Power clipped a crane on top of one of Europe's tallest residential towers, falling from the sky before exploding into flames and crashing into the streets below.
Captain Philip Amadeus, managing director of RotorMotion, an executive helicopter charter business, said the aircraft was on a commercial flight from Redhill, in Surrey, to Elstree.
He said: "Our main priority now is for the family of the pilot and we extend our greatest sympathy to the friends and relatives of those who have died and been injured."
Tributes flooded across Twitter from many who had flown with Mr Barnes.
@MikeSmithFTV wrote: "Pete Barnes. Air ambulance, filming, immense pilot. Enjoyed our teas & chats. Rest not in peace, but fly with your new wings."
@analiensaturn tweeted: "I can name the pilot now Pete Barnes, a captain well liked and very proffesional."
@stevegals said: "#RIP Cpt Pete Barnes. Top guy, always a pleasure to see and fly with you. Thoughts are with family and friends. #helicopter."
@MartinHoyle0121 added: "Pete Barnes RIP … One of life's Adventurers Gone Sad Day for His Family."
Mr Barnes had thousands of hours of flying experience and had amassed around 9,000 hours of flying time, including 3,500 hours on the type of craft he was piloting today.
In a wide-ranging UK career spanning 18 years, he had done everything from fly air ambulances to working as a pilot on adverts, TV programmes and films including the James Bond film Die Another Day, Saving Private Ryan and Tomb Raider II.
In 2004 he helped rescue a motorist from a flooded ford in County Durham, while working for the Great North Air Ambulance.
He also flew the Newcastle Traffic & Travel helicopter as the Voice of Metro FM and worked as a helicopter instructor.
Mr Barnes originally worked as a ski instructor and guide in Europe after completing his business studies degree, before going into advertising.
But he later moved to the US to train as a helicopter pilot, earning a US Commercial and Instructors Licence flying helicopters around Florida and the East Coast.
He moved back to the UK and at the time of his death was working as a freelance pilot for RotorMotion, a company which counts among its clients the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister David Cameron, former PM Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama.
On its website RotorMotion describes Mr Barnes, who had worked for them since 1997, as one of the country's most experienced Agusta pilots and instructor, with clients often requesting him for "both his piloting skills and his relaxed, charming manner".
Addressing a press conference near the scene of the incident, Commander Neil Basu, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "It was something of a miracle that this was not many, many times worse."
It is understood the eight-seater aircraft was owned by Cornwall-based Castle Air but was leased to RotorMotion, which is based at Redhill Aerodrome.
Staff at Redhill Aerodrome confirmed it left the site at 7.35am amid low cloud cover and poor visibility, while the owner of London Heliport said he requested to land at one of its sites via Heathrow air traffic control.
But the Heliport never established contact with the pilot and shortly before 8am the aircraft crashed into the crane on top of The Tower in the St George Wharf development on the River Thames.
Video footage and photos flooded on to social media sites revealing chaotic scenes, with roads blocked off, burning wreckage and buildings damaged by flames.
Witness Nic Walker said the helicopter crashed on to the street outside his house, setting a car on fire.
He said: "I was awake in bed and heard a helicopter. I was aware of some funny sounds and then a loud engine noise, then a huge bang. I flung open my window and looked out to see fire across the street.
"The crane operator was about to go up. The scaffolders evacuated to here told me there isn't a crane big enough in the UK to get the wreckage down."
London Fire Brigade station manager Bruce Grain, one of first firefighters at the scene, said it "was absolute chaos" but he revealed the fire was put out within 20 minutes.
Six fire engines, four fire rescue units, a number of other specialist vehicles and 88 firefighters attended the scene of the crash, a few hundred yards from MI6 and the future American embassy site.
Four fire engines and two fire rescue units also attended reports of a crane in a precarious position.
The brigade was called at 8am and 57 firefighters and officers were involved.
A photograph taken by the London Fire Brigade shows the damage caused to a VW car which was hit by debris from the helicopter.
The front and side windows were smashed, the passenger door was open and the vehicle was badly charred.
A section of twisted metal from the helicopter lay next to the vehicle.
Peter Cowup, assistant commissioner at London Fire Brigade, said: "One driver was able to get out of his own free will and leave the scene. He was injured but we understand he's fine.
"Our operation is now focused on the tower crane. We're doing what we can to make that safe and working with specialist contractors to assess the damage sustained to the crane.
"In the meantime, we will have to maintain a cordon around it and ask people to stay away from the area."
He added: "Some people were evacuated. We will allow them back into their homes as soon as we can."
Asked about the stability of the crane, Mr Cowup said: "At the moment there's no imminent risk of that crane collapsing."
London Ambulance Service confirmed 12 people were injured in the incident.
Pauline Cranmer, operations manager at London Ambulance Service, said: "The second fatality was not in the building. It was in close proximity to the helicopter.
"There were a number of injuries that would potentially be consistent with being hit by debris. Our primary concern is about treating the injuries."
The police force is working with other agencies including the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) and the Civilian Aviation Authority (CAA).




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