Reports am hearing are that the helicopter pilot attempted a controlled drop - a procedure pilots are trained in for emergencies.
A guy from the AIB was saying that a controlled drop means that power is shut off to the rotors (if not already lost) and the helicopter is allowed to drop like a stone so that the wind against the rotors causes them to turn in the hope that they can get fast enough to cushion the hard landing, and, at around 30 feet (yes 30 feet!) they attempt to re-engage the power to the rotor.
It's early days, but eye witness reports are that the helicopter dropped like a stone. The pilot may have been looking for a set down area in a controlled drop and may have mistaken the flat roof of the pub for hard ground in the dark.
Other witness statement have said their was no big bang, no explosion, rather there was a big "whump", which suggests the hard landing of the controlled drop worked but unfortunately the impact on the roof of the pub caused it to collapse taking the helicopter with rotor still turning into the people below. In fact, it can be clearly seen in TV news, and has been backed up, that the rotor cut off the helicopter's own tail as it collapsed into the pub.
Imagine that. Several tons of helicopter and roof coming in on you as well as a rotor blade still going round.
A guy from the AIB was saying that a controlled drop means that power is shut off to the rotors (if not already lost) and the helicopter is allowed to drop like a stone so that the wind against the rotors causes them to turn in the hope that they can get fast enough to cushion the hard landing, and, at around 30 feet (yes 30 feet!) they attempt to re-engage the power to the rotor.
It's early days, but eye witness reports are that the helicopter dropped like a stone. The pilot may have been looking for a set down area in a controlled drop and may have mistaken the flat roof of the pub for hard ground in the dark.
Other witness statement have said their was no big bang, no explosion, rather there was a big "whump", which suggests the hard landing of the controlled drop worked but unfortunately the impact on the roof of the pub caused it to collapse taking the helicopter with rotor still turning into the people below. In fact, it can be clearly seen in TV news, and has been backed up, that the rotor cut off the helicopter's own tail as it collapsed into the pub.
Imagine that. Several tons of helicopter and roof coming in on you as well as a rotor blade still going round.
