LONDON — A helicopter smashed into a crane atop a high-rise building in central London and plummeted to the ground during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing the pilot and a person on the ground, police and witnesses said.
More than a dozen people were injured in the shower of debris, but "it is probably miraculous that this wasn't much, much worse," Cmdr. Neil Basu of Scotland Yard told the BBC.
Video footage showed flaming wreckage on the ground where the chopper came down shortly before 8 a.m. in the Vauxhall district south of the Thames, close to MI6, Britain's spy agency. The site is also near the Nine Elms neighborhood where the U.S. is planning to build a large new embassy.
PHOTOS: London helicopter crash
The crash occurred on a gloomy morning with thick clouds or fog low in the sky. The nearby London Heliport said in a statement that the pilot had requested, via air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport, to divert to the heliport and land there because of bad weather. But the chopper and the heliport never established direct contact.
Helicopters are a common sight over London, particularly around the financial district, where many high-rises are clustered.
Witness Patrick Gartland said he heard "an almighty crash" overhead and "a lot of yelling" from around the building, which is under construction.
"The helicopter had just plowed into the top of the crane. Rotors and debris sort of exploded, and then the helicopter had just gone into this massive sort of cart-wheeling," Gartland told Sky News. "It careered just over the flower market and just exploded when it hit Wandsworth Road."
The helicopter charter company RotorMotion identified the pilot as Peter Barnes, 50, a highly experienced flyer who had accumulated more than 12,000 flying hours.
Police said the chopper was not carrying any passengers. Seven people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, and six were taken to local hospitals, all for minor wounds except for one person who suffered a broken leg.
henry.chu@latimes.com
London copter crash kills 2
This article
London copter crash kills 2
can be opened in url
http://throwingnews.blogspot.com/2013/01/london-copter-crash-kills-2.html
London copter crash kills 2
