Thursday, July 28, 2011

Pilot 'tried to avoid houses'

SOUTH TURRAMURRA: The pilot of a helicopter that crashed in dense bushland at South Turramurra on Friday could have been trying to avoid houses and possibly land on the nearby Canoon Rd netball courts.

Witnesses reported hearing the helicopter flying low before there was a loud bang.

Pilot Colin Greenwood, 41, and his passenger, Bruce Campbell, 65, died when the Bell 206 Long Ranger helicopter, owned by Mr Campbell, crashed in bush at 9.15am.

A Canoon Rd resident, who did not wish to be named, said he went outside when he heard the noise of an engine cutting out or hitting a solid object. “I thought they may have tried to land on the netball court,” he said.

His neighbour Flora Dean said she thought the pilot was trying to navigate away from homes.

“I think they were definitely trying to avoid the houses,” she said, when asked why she thought the chopper landed in bushland.

Mr Greenwood was well respected among his peers as an experienced pilot who had lived and worked in Papua New Guinea, doing mountain flying.

A fellow aviation industry worker, who did not wish to be named, told the Advocate he met Mr Greenwood five times at helipads at Bankstown, Rosehill and Sydney airports. He said Mr Greenwood worked as senior pilot for David Gemmell, the former owner of Sydney Helicopters.

Mr Greenwood also flew a couple of times for Blue Sky helicopters at Sydney Airport and took part in firefighting operations and aerial lifting at Rosehill.

He said the experienced pilot was well regarded in the close-knit aviation industry.

“Colin was likeable, affable and an absolute professional,” he said. “I never heard a bad word said about him. He was certainly experienced and highly regarded.”

The bodies of Mr Campbell and Mr Greenwood were retrieved from the crash site on Saturday and taken for a post-mortem to confirm the cause of their deaths.

Police said the crash site was under the control of Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators who will examine the circumstances surrounding the crash. Ku-ring-gai police are preparing a report for the NSW Coroner. 

Source:  http://hornsby-advocate.whereilive.com.au

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