Crashed helicopter blade flew 180M before striking house, investigation finds
The incident happened in the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St Peter on June 11 last year
Part of the blade of a crashed helicopter was propelled nearly 180 metres and embedded itself in plants attached to a house, an investigation has found.
The incident happened in the Buckinghamshire village of Chalfont St Peter on June 11 last year, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.
Shortly after taking off for a flight from the nearby Denham Aerodrome to Warwickshire, the pilot encountered thick and low cloud.
This meant they were reliant on operating the Robinson R66 helicopter by looking at cockpit instruments rather than outside references.
The 64-year-old - who was not named in the report - was not qualified to fly in those conditions and was "disorientated and increasingly anxious", the AAIB said.
After deciding to return to Denham Aerodrome, they broke through the clouds while over fields, where they decided to land.
The landing in an overgrown, uneven field was "heavy" and resulted in the helicopter rolling over and being "significantly damaged", with its main rotor blade striking the ground, according to the report.
A section of blade tip flew through the air for nearly 180 metres before becoming lodged in wisteria attached to the wall of a house.
The pilot was uninjured.
The AAIB concluded the weather in the area around Denham Aerodrome was unsuitable for a flight planned to be operated using outside visual cues.