Monday, November 12, 2012

Macca Makes It - Just!

It was nearly 'game over' for Sir Paul McCartney and his wife.
A just-released report shows how close Macca came to death on May 3rd! He and his wife Nancy had been heading home via helicopter when the pilot became disoriented in bad weather and plunged towards trees by the helipad on their East Sussex estate. With just a metre to spare, the pilot managed to lift the chartered Sikorsky away from the rain-lashed tree tops, and eventually landed at an airport about 15 miles from their home. The couple were unaware how close they came to crashing.
The UK's Department of Transport is investigating the near-miss. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has categorised the episode as a 'serious incident', which it defines as 'involving circumstances indicating that an accident nearly occurred'. According to its report, the minimum reading from the helicopter's altimeter was two feet! The report also reveals flying conditions that night included low cloudbase, poor visibility and rain. Despite this, the pilot pressed ahead and prepared to land on the helipad, which is in the corner of a field encircled by woodland. While manoeuvring, he became disoriented and the helicopter descended towards tops of trees. The pilot then executed a go-around or aborted landing.
The £5million 9-seat helicopter was chartered from Air Harrods, which describes itself as the leading London-based business aviation service provider. The firm counts ex-UK PM Tony Blair among its clients, and charges around £3,000 an hour.
Air Harrods: "Harrods Aviation can confirm that an incident took place on May 3 involving an Air Harrods helicopter. We are working in full cooperation with the AAIB which are currently investigating the incident."
And from Macca's camp: "Paul has been spoken to. It has been put to him, everything. It's a no comment."

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