Three dead in helicopter crash
The area where the helicopter crashed killing three people
Three people have been killed in a civilian helicopter crash near a village in Hampshire.
The pilot and two passengers were killed in the twin squirrel helicopter which crashed head first into the ground at Doiley Woods, near Hurstbourne Tarrant, north of Andover.
A member of the public reported the accident in a field near the Essebourne Manor Hotel at about 1438 GMT.
The helicopter had left Thruxton airfield.
The crew arrived eight minutes later to find that a helicopter had crashed upside down in the field and had burst into flames.
Hampshire Ambulance spokesperson
Three ambulance crews arrived at the scene, along with fire crews to find the small aircraft well alight.
A Hampshire Ambulance spokesman said: “We responded to a call at 14.34 to reports of a helicopter crash in a field at Doiley Woods, near Hurstbourne Tarrant in Hampshire.
“The crew arrived eight minutes later to find that a helicopter had crashed upside down in the field and had burst into flames.”
Police have now set up a cordon around the area and a section of the A343 road from Andover to Newbury in Berkshire has been closed.
After the fire was extinguished by Hampshire Fire and Rescue, police carried out a search with police dogs for a third person thought to be trapped under the wreckage.
Eyewitness Jenny Butterworth saw a plume of smoke and flames.
No signs of life
She said: “I gather that there were two people. Somebody who went up said they were dead already.
“I thought at first it was a military one but I gather it wasn’t.”
Hampshire Ambulance Service paramedics at the crash scene.
Hampshire ambulance paramedic Tim Jones, who is based in Andover, was one of the first emergency service personnel on the scene.
He said: “When we arrived the helicopter was completely engulfed in flames. We had to stand by while the firefighters came to put out the flames.
“We then went to check for signs of life but obviously there were none which was very frustrating for us.
He added: “The helicopter came down at the edge of a wood and the front part was embedded in the ground.
“It was just unfortunate there was nothing we could do to help.”
The Air Accident Investigation Branch is expected to examine the incident and later publish an accident report.
By: Arabella-Cox - 5th December 2003 at 20:14
Apology accepted. Didn’t mean to sound harsh, but aviation’s quite a tight knit community and sometimes we all have to be a bit circumspect with our views and comments.
By: R.weaver - 5th December 2003 at 18:41
my apologs
I did not know, sorry for any upset.
Regards
R.weaver
Safe legal flying
By: Moggy C - 5th December 2003 at 17:32
Ian Shoobridge AFM, was an experienced, dedicated commercial pilot and instructor. He was ex-Army Air Corps with over 9,000 hours spanning a 25-year career and an unblemished safety record.
Friends of his read these forums.
Moggy
By: Arabella-Cox - 5th December 2003 at 12:57
R.weaver – a couple of things.
1 – The AAIB will investigate this incident and present their findings in a detailed accident report, as they do with all others. Please do not pre-empt them with idle speculation.
2 – Tagging your own personal or career aspirations onto a thread which has announced fatalities is disrespectful at the very least. An apology would be nice. I would also suggest you engage brain before committing fingers to keyboard in future, especially on threads such as this.
By: R.weaver - 4th December 2003 at 22:56
Re: Three dead in helicopter crash
Originally posted by EGNM
Three dead in helicopter crashThe area where the helicopter crashed killing three people
Three people have been killed in a civilian helicopter crash near a village in Hampshire.
The pilot and two passengers were killed in the twin squirrel helicopter which crashed head first into the ground at Doiley Woods, near Hurstbourne Tarrant, north of Andover.A member of the public reported the accident in a field near the Essebourne Manor Hotel at about 1438 GMT.
The helicopter had left Thruxton airfield.
The crew arrived eight minutes later to find that a helicopter had crashed upside down in the field and had burst into flames.
Hampshire Ambulance spokesperson
Three ambulance crews arrived at the scene, along with fire crews to find the small aircraft well alight.
A Hampshire Ambulance spokesman said: “We responded to a call at 14.34 to reports of a helicopter crash in a field at Doiley Woods, near Hurstbourne Tarrant in Hampshire.
“The crew arrived eight minutes later to find that a helicopter had crashed upside down in the field and had burst into flames.”
Police have now set up a cordon around the area and a section of the A343 road from Andover to Newbury in Berkshire has been closed.
After the fire was extinguished by Hampshire Fire and Rescue, police carried out a search with police dogs for a third person thought to be trapped under the wreckage.
Eyewitness Jenny Butterworth saw a plume of smoke and flames.
No signs of life
She said: “I gather that there were two people. Somebody who went up said they were dead already.
“I thought at first it was a military one but I gather it wasn’t.”
Hampshire Ambulance Service paramedics at the crash scene.
Hampshire ambulance paramedic Tim Jones, who is based in Andover, was one of the first emergency service personnel on the scene.
He said: “When we arrived the helicopter was completely engulfed in flames. We had to stand by while the firefighters came to put out the flames.
“We then went to check for signs of life but obviously there were none which was very frustrating for us.
He added: “The helicopter came down at the edge of a wood and the front part was embedded in the ground.
“It was just unfortunate there was nothing we could do to help.”
The Air Accident Investigation Branch is expected to examine the incident and later publish an accident report.
I love flying helicopters when I get the chance to have another trial lesson I go for it, as a ppl student I went to heliflight uk for a work experiance event and to say thank’s I got a R22 flight.
Accidents will always happen, I bet something like the engine went and the pilot did not get the collective down quick enougth and his rotor speed fell below 80% and he could not get into an autorotaion. It’s such a shame and what a lovley helicopter to loose. If I passed a FAA class 2 medical I would do my CPL(H).
CPL requirements are only class 2 in the U.S.A. I must find out if I can get one???
Regards
R.weaver
Safe legal flying
By: robbelc - 4th December 2003 at 21:22
Vaery sad this was AS350B G-XMEN. The two pax were aircraft engineers on a test flight after maintance. Sadly they all eave young families.
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December 2, 2003 at 6:58 pm