June 20, 2013
A helicopter in Tinglayan Kalinga crashed, injuring three policemen: Sr. Supt. Oliver Enmodias, chief of regional operations and plans of the Cordillera police; Chief Inspector Dexter Vitug; and Police Officer 3 Jude Edwin Duque. There is no indication that the Pilot Vitug sustained any injury.
The helicopter suffered engine trouble during strong winds, and crashed at Mt. Bitulayunga at 11:00 a.m.
The Wednesday January 16, 2013 crash of the helicopter that struck a crane on top of London’s St George Wharf Tower did result in two casualties. Two office buildings, 5 cars & 2 motorbikes were damaged. The AgustaWest AW109E #G-CRST was flown by Rotormotion, and leased from Castle Air.
Weather people are saying that the top of the crane was not in fog but in a low cloud. (This is apparently different from fog, and might be something I should ask my pilots about. And this London. London=Fog, no?)
Four people were injured and taken to St. Thomas’ Hospital. Five injured were taken to Kings College Hospital. Seven people were treated at the scene. One of the injured was rescued from a burning car. The helicopter fell to Wandsworth Road, hit some vehicles, burst into flames; and falling burning debris started flames in some buildings. Although there were people in the area who thought the accident was a bomb and didn’t realize the helicopter had struck the crane, some witnesses saw the helicopter clip the crane and in seconds, spin out of control. Part of the crane also fell.
I think it’s nothing short of a miracle that there were only two killed and nine injured. London has 8.2 million people.
The pilot, Peter Barnes, was en route from Redhill to Elstree, but had diverted to Battersea because of the visibility. Barnes had over 12,000 flying hours, was employed by charter firm Rotormotion and had flown in the movies Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan.
Night officially ended thirty minutes before the crash, at which time lights on tall structures were allowed to be turned off. The lights are not visible during fog and bad weather.
The accident resulted in some subway/tube/station closures.
The wreckage will be taken to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough, Hampshire, and a report will take several months. The AAIB site announces The AAIB has sent a team to investigate a helicopter accident in Vauxhall, London – 16 January 2013.
A military helicopter crashed in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, on November 24.
According to sources, the Augusta AW101 Chopper had landed but it suddenly moved up again and tumbled.
There was only one person aboard, who sustained minor scratches.
The incident remains under investigation.
Korean Air flight KE-644 had to divert for an emergency landing in Manila, Philippines, on February 28th.
The Boeing 777-300 plane heading from Singapore to Seoul, South Korea, was diverted after smell of smoke was noticed in the cabin.
The plane landed safely. All 285 passengers aboard remained unharmed.
What: Emergency landing by a CBS 3 backup chopper leased from U.S. Helicopters en route to cover a news event
Where: Landed on an athletic field adjacent to Mayfair Elementary School in Philadelphia’s Northeast section
When: On Columbus Day
Why: The pilot landed after the chopper began losing a large amount of oil. A similar problem occurred recently with another leased helicopter several weeks ago in which a warning light came on for a different problem
What: NARZ Mi-8T helicopter RA-22376 en route from Kyshtovka
Where: Strezhevoy, Omsk Region Krapivinskoye field
When: Nov 25, 2010, 12:12
Who: 7 crew
Why: It is reported that on approach, the helicopter went into uncontrollable rotation with subsequent separation of the end beam and the screw gear , then it fell on its side about 50 yards from the landing site. With tanks filled with fuel, they ignited, and the helicopter exploded. It was reported there were 7 crew fatalities and 3 surviving boat crew. Three survivors, who are in the hospital, are Chernov Stanislavski, Kosolapov Victor Ye, Laktyuhin Oleg. Two are stable, one has burns. The helicopter was carrying 1600 kg of food.
