I think the victim was equally at fault. Having said that, the pilot should have discontinued takeoff and laid a charge against the victim for constituting a danger to aviation.
By: EGTC - 17th March 2010 at 20:37
Glad to hear he was found not guilty! The right decision in my opinion.
By: Arabella-Cox - 17th March 2010 at 19:40
Hurrah for British Justice. The decision is correct in my opinion.
By the way, look at the thread GA Accidents in the US: a vaguely similar accident just took place in the USA, some guy did a forced lob onto a beach and took out a jogger, poor man!
By: Newforest - 17th March 2010 at 17:59
Common sense prevails. Clarification is that he was struck by the rear propellor and not the rotating rotor.
By: EGTC - 7th March 2010 at 00:34
He probably should of studied what happens to birds when they try to stand in the way of an aircraft taking off first :p
By: scotavia - 6th March 2010 at 18:35
Security at many unlicenced airstrips is not in place. This tragic case highlights what happens when emotions run amok.The hunt supporter was angry and keen to confront the pilot. The pilot was aware of the angry manner of the hunt supporter which had been caused by repeated overflights at low level of the hunt . The pilot has one line of defence , in court he has said that he was afraid for his own safety if he stayed on the ground. He aimed to take off in a gap between the hunt supporter and a woman.
You can ponder the more common situation where a car thief has been spotted by you and you decide to stand in front of the car as he drives towards you to ,hoping he will stop before he runs you down.
By: WJ244 - 6th March 2010 at 16:49
When aircraft spotters (most of whom know to avoid the whirly bits on aircraft) are actively discouraged from venturing anywhere near many active airfields and, in some cases are even threatened with prosecution, the question that needs to be asked is what was this man doing trespassing on the airfield in the first place?
It is a nasty and tragic way to end a life but on the other hand many hunt supporters do seem to regard themselves as being above the law. It takes two to make an accident and I don’t think all the blame should be laid on the pilot.
By: spitfireman - 6th March 2010 at 12:02
he won’t do that again:rolleyes:
By: dangerousdave - 6th March 2010 at 11:51
Yeah cos huntsmen can be reasoned with!:D
By: Newforest - 6th March 2010 at 11:46
Couldn’t think of a more eye-catching thread title?:diablo:
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March 6, 2010 at 10:44 am