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
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
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.
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).
