Safety fears raised before helicopter crash which killed Mortimer pilot

Father-of-two Cpt Pete Barnes, aged 50, died after his helicopter hit a crane attached to a building development at St George Wharf in Vauxhall, South London on January 16 last year.
After hitting the crane the helicopter fell on to Wandsworth Road and fatally injured a pedestrian just 20 yards from Vauxhall railway station.
An official report into the disaster, released this week, reveals that concerns were raised with the Civil Aviation Authority in 2009 about how the development would affect flight paths.
According to a copy of the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report, the concern “does not appear to have led to further discussion or action”.
The report added that the building was not listed as an obstacle in the helicopter’s navigation system, and that the pilot had not logged onto an online database containing updated flight information for pilots.
For the full story, see this week’s Newbury Weekly News, out on Thursday.