England: A pilot and passenger have died after their helicopter crashed in a rural area of Berkshire

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The helicopter was reported by witnesses to have split in half or exploded in mid air. This has similarities to the crash last week of the helicopter in Florida that killed a pilot and reporter. A helicopter crash in New Zealand that killed four people was reported yesterday.

England: A pilot and passenger have died after their helicopter crashed in a rural area of Berkshire.

Thames Valley police said the accident happened around 1645 GMT in Twyford, near Reading.

A spokesman said the two victims, a man and a woman, were killed instantly.

He said eye witnesses near the scene saw the helicopter come down into a field and burst into flames.

"All the emergency services are at the scene. The helicopter has been totally destroyed," he added.

Eamon Clarke, who was working nearby, said he saw the aircraft snap in two in mid air before it fell to the ground.

It is not thought anyone on the ground was injured.

'Blew up in mid-air'

But a spokesman for the Berkshire Ambulance Service said local people claimed it blew-up in mid-air and missed hitting a row of houses by 300 metres.

A spokesman for Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said six engines went to the scene and put out burning wreckage.

Police said it appeared the aircraft was a Hughes 300 helicopter which had started its journey at Shoreham near Brighton earlier on Wednesday.

It later stopped at the Booker Airfield on the outskirts of High Wycombe and was on its way back to Shoreham when the crash happened.

Air accident investigators have launched an inquiry.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_670000/670808.stm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 08, 2000

Answers

More information on the same story from the Electronic Telegraph:

ISSUE 1749 Thursday 9 March 2000

Three feared dead after helicopter explodes in mid-air By Michael Fleet

TWO people were killed and a third was feared dead last night after a helicopter exploded and crashed close to a village yesterday.

Witnesses said the helicopter had just flown over a farm when there was a loud crack and it broke apart before the main part of the aircraft exploded.

One man said he saw what he thought was a person fall from the helicopter, a Hughes 300, seconds before it broke apart. The wreckage came down in a field by the village of Hare Hatch, near Reading, Berks, close to the A4.

The pilot of the helicopter was named as Brendan Loft, of Kenley, Surrey. It is thought he had recently qualified as an instructor. His body and that of a male passenger were found shortly after the accident. Police were still trying last night to find the body of a woman who was also believed to have been on board.

Carl Morrish, a chef who was working in the Horse and Groom public house nearby, said he heard the helicopter fly overhead and then the sound of it snapping apart. He said: "In a matter of seconds the two parts separated in mid-air and came crashing down. It was very frightening to watch."

A man who was working in a garden centre said the helicopter was making an unusual noise as it flew past. "I wondered what was going on and looked up. There was a crack like a firework and the tail of the helicopter snapped off and then the main part exploded. I saw what looked like a person falling or jumping from the helicopter just before it broke apart."

Christine Wilson, who lives nearby, said: "I looked out of the window and there were all these strange things coming out of the sky. There were pieces of plastic and bits of metal raining down into my garden. I had no idea what it all was at the time. I went outside with my husband Tom and we realised that an aircraft must have come down.

"We found a gentleman's brown casual jacket. My husband checked the pockets and we found a receipt for helicopter fuel bought from Shoreham Airport and dated this morning. It was very frightening finding it. I guess we are lucky that the helicopter did not come down on top of us."

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said it was thought that two men and a woman had been in the helicopter. The aircraft had flown from Shoreham, West Sussex, to High Wycombe, Bucks, and is thought to have been on its return journey when it crashed just before 4.45pm.

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 08, 2000.


Here's the link to the Electronic Telegraph story above:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et? ac=000122257519214&rtmo=3wxqK8KM&atmo=YYYYYYbp&pg=/et/00/3/9/nchop09.h tml

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 08, 2000.


BBC News update: Third person confirmed dead ht tp://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_670000/670808.stm



-- Jim McAteer (jim_mcateer@hotmail.com), March 09, 2000.

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