By Mark Mackay

A STRICKEN helicopter was cut in two by its own rotor-blades a fatal accident inquiry at Perth Sheriff Court heard yesterday.

Moments earlier, a catastrophic failure within the rear of the aircraft had seen the stabiliser fin, rear rotor blade and gear box torn from their mountings.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the helicopter “fall apart” in mid-air before it plunged to the ground, killing pilot Robert Philip Ward (48), of Glasgow, and observer Edward Lapsley (56), of Tyne and Wear.

The Bell 206B Jet Ranger II was flying from Cumbernauld to Aberdeen on a gas pipeline inspection for the National Grid when it crashed near Coupar Angus shortly after 10am on December 21, 2005.

It was to have been delivered to a maintenance organisation near Aberdeen for a scheduled inspection on completion of the task.

However, just 45 minutes into the journey, control of the helicopter was lost and it plummeted to the ground.

Mr Lapsley and Mr Ward were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch concluded that the crash had been caused by metal fatigue.

AAIB inspector Keith Conradie arrived at the scene the next day.

He told the inquiry he and a colleague had quickly focused their attention on the helicopter’s tail.

“The first items in the wreckage trail were items associated with the rear part of the helicopter. Found first in the accident location were the vertical fin and the stinger, which hangs underneath the vertical fin,” he said.

Asked for his view of events by Depute Fiscal Robbie Brown, Mr Conradie told the inquiry, “The vertical fin came away, swinging underneath and into the area of the tail rotor.

“This caused the tail rotor and gear box to depart from the helicopter.”

The inquiry heard the loss of the tail rotor and the loss of mass would have made the aircraft impossible to control.

Mr Conradie said the helicopter would have become “nose heavy” and would very quickly have begun to dive.

He added, “It appears that the main rotor-blades flexed and struck the tail boom as the pilot attempted to lift the helicopter out of the nose dive.

“They then flexed again, striking the cabin. The front of the cabin was cut off.”

Earlier, the inquiry heard from a number of motorists who had seen the helicopter in its final moments.

Delivery driver Craig Penny (61) was travelling along the A94 near Coupar Angus when he saw the helicopter. He told the inquiry it had initially appeared to be flying normally.

Moments later however, Mr Penny saw the helicopter lose forward motion and begin to hover.

“I could see a cascade of parts falling from the helicopter,” he said.

“In the space of a few seconds it fell out of the sky and was lost to my sight.”

Ralph Bissett (51) first became aware of the helicopter when he saw a hail of “debris and tape” flying past the window of his car.

“I saw the aircraft going down into a dip,” he said.

“I saw the helicopter going into the field before going nose down and then into the ground. I remember that it had no tail rotor.”

Among the other evidence heard, Depute Fiscal Robbie Brown read an affidavit from Andrew James Gill, an employee of the South Yorkshire-based Total Air Management Services (TAMS) who were operating the helicopter.

Mr Gill, who was working at Sheffield City Airport as a pilot and pilot examiner, said he had met Mr Ward in 2004 having been asked to test his competency.

He described Mr Ward as “an experienced pilot with many hours of flying experience behind him”.

The inquiry before Sheriff Lindsay Foulis continues.