Helicopter down in Vauxhall

GeX said:
I know, and I think you've interpreted it incorrectly. Given there's a chunk of tail on a nearby building, it suggests that it clipped the crane and then carried on inland, loosing height before hitting the ground.
On the other hand, if the crane had been clipped, it'd bend, drop downwards and skim the sides of the building as it fell - which would take sometime (30 seconds?) as it was attached to the building by stays and cables.
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Considering there is only one reference to it, it is not confirmed yet. The loss of the tail is curious as it suggests that was involved in the impact.
 
I think it's safe to assume that the helicopter didn't hit the building after hitting the crane. It didn't loose all forward momentum the moment it hit the crane. Maybe the tail broke off when it clipped the crane, and without that the helicopter was unstable.

Fully diving into speculation now there, but back to to previous topic; I think we can be pretty sure that the witness was referring to the crane hitting the sides of the building as it fell.
 
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Just been reported that the pilot was no longer speaking to ATC. Must've been handed off to Battersea and maybe decided to cut the corner.
 
neodude said:
Just been reported that the pilot was no longer speaking to ATC. Must've been handed off to Battersea and maybe decided to cut the corner.
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However it is nothing that ATC could have stopped him from doing, just for clarity. From what I believe, the main helicopter route is along the Thames, and St George's Wharf is on the banks.
 
It seems likely at the moment. It was a great height to fall from, so distance travelled with or without main rotor is reasonable depending on forward momentum, obviously less momentum is needed with the main rotor attached.
 
cheechm said:
However it is nothing that ATC could have stopped him from doing, just for clarity. From what I believe, the main helicopter route is along the Thames, and St George's Wharf is on the banks.
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He was twin-engined so yes, No requirement for him to stay on the H4 route. But with the vis being as it was it probably would've been better for him to stay on it.
 
neodude said:
He was twin-engined so yes, No requirement for him to stay on the H4 route. But with the vis being as it was it probably would've been better for him to stay on it.
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Isn't it odd that he wasn't talking to ATC given he must have been about to enter Class A airspace?!

Also, speculation is that G-CRST was the aircraft involved.
 
alexthecheese said:
No, I meant just if you didn't know where you were, over a city like London, would you go down for ground references? Isn't there anything else they can rely on?
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I'd assume it would depend on how thick the cloud cover is. The pilot may have been hoping to just dip under it. rather than climbing up through it.

Again all speculation though
 
The crash was literally 300 yards away from work, (close enough that a lot of the pictures show my office) whole building and area evacuated as the crane is apparently unsafe. I was walking to work about half an hour after it happened but obviously couldn't get anywhere near.

Absolute bedlam near the site as you can imagine, police, fire, ambulances everywhere etc.
 
cheechm said:
Isn't it odd that he wasn't talking to ATC given he must have been about to enter Class A airspace?!

Also, speculation is that G-CRST was the aircraft involved.
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I would imagine that there is an agreement with Heathrow that Thames can transfer Heli's straight to Battersea. Or maybe it was co-ordinated with Heathrow.
 
A bit random..but fire engines got their in under 5 mins apparently...how the hell did they manage that!?
 
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