Crash Pilot From Reading
16 January 2013, 16:33 | Updated: 16 January 2013, 23:02
The helicopter pilot killed in a crash in Central London has been named as Peter Barnes from Reading
The 50 year old from Goddard's Green near Mortimer on Berkshire had flown during the 2012 Games and piloted helicopters in films appearing in action scenes in Bond movies and Saving Private Ryan.
The 50 year died along with another person on the ground - when he crashed into crane near Vauxhall Station at around 8am on Wednesday 16th January, after diverting because of bad weather. 13 others were injured with 5 of them taken to hospital.
Career
He'd clocked up around 9,000 hours of flying time in a UK career spanning 18 years, 3,500 of which on the type of craft he was piloting when he crashed.
He had done everything from fly air ambulances to working as a pilot on adverts, TV programmes and films including the James Bond film Die Another Day, Saving Private Ryan and Tomb Raider II. In 2004 he helped rescue a motorist from a flooded ford in County Durham, while working for the Great North Air Ambulance.
He was working as a freelance pilot for RotorMotion, a company which counts among its clients the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister David Cameron, former PM Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama.
On its website RotorMotion describes Mr Barnes, who had worked for them since 1997, as one of the country's most experienced Agusta pilots and instructor, with clients often requesting him for ``both his piloting skills and his relaxed, charming manner''.
The Investigation
Speaking to Heart from the crash site, Julian Firth, an investigator with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, said the wreckage will be taken to its site at Farnborough, Hampshire. He said it will take ``several months'' to produce a full report into the incident.
Tributes
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