By Paul Reoch

SEVERAL AREAS of “fatigue” were described yesterday in Perth Sheriff Court as being possibly attributable to a helicopter crash in Perthshire, which claimed two lives.

Another witness said he had heard the aircraft described as a “rattly old bugger.”

A fatal accident inquiry is being conducted into the deaths of pilot Robert Philip Ward (48), of Glasgow, and observer Edward Lapsley (56), of Tyne and Wear.

They had been flying in a Bell 206B Jet Ranger II from Cumbernauld to Aberdeen on December 21, 2005, to inspect a pipeline when 45 minutes into the flight the helicopter went out of control and crashed into a field near Coupar Angus.

Yesterday the inquiry heard from Steven Findlay, of QinetiQ, who was asked to carry out a detailed investigation of the aircraft for the Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB). QinetiQ claims to be one of the world’s leading defence technology and security companies.

He told the court he found several cracks in the brackets of the vertical stabiliser (tailfin).

“This consisted of corrosive attack on the brackets and mechanical damage,” he said.

He discovered “fatigue crack growth” that could have contributed to the eventual collapse of the tailfin.

“The top half of the tailfin had the most fatigue, with the bottom half the least. This resulted in the tailfin striking the rotor causing damage.”

He told the inquiry the bolts in the tailfin were “insufficiently” torqued and this could have been caused by human error.

The inquiry heard that the helicopter, which had been in operation since 1969, had its tailfin removed and re-assembled in September 2005—four months before the fatal crash.

Earlier Andrew Wilson had said that he was “surprised” when the helicopter underwent a five-hour inspection at Peterculter.

The Bell 206B Jet Ranger was leased from HJS helicopters and Mr Wilson, an inspection and stand-by observer with Total Air Management Services (TAMS), travelled to Peterculter as part of a normal 50-hour inspection on December 6, 2005. He stood in for Mr Lapsley on that day.

He said the helicopter arrived at 11.10am ahead of a flight to the Black Isle.

He told depute fiscal Robbie Brown, “I told Mr Ward he should be out of here by 12 noon but the inspection took a lot longer than expected.”

Mr Wilson said he was surprised when the aircraft was taken to a hangar and that it took five hours to complete the inspection.

He told the inquiry that all the tail rotor gearbox parts were removed. Mr Wilson said he spoke about this to Mr Ward, who had asked him, “What are they doing?”

Mr Wilson told the court, “It was my assumption that they must have found something, but if they did we were not aware of it before.”

He described Mr Ward as a “creature of habit” and said that he “religiously” inspected the helicopters prior to flight.

Cross-examined by advocate Marian Gilmoure, appearing for HJS aviation, Mr Wilson told of an earlier incident in which Mr Ward had described the Bell 206B helicopter as a “rattly old bugger,” but treated this lightly.

“He (Mr Ward) didn’t say this as a concern,” Mr Wilson said. “He did say it was shaky but if he was worried he would not have flown in it.”

Earlier Keith Conradie, an inspector with the AAIB, told the court that weather was not a mitigating factor in the crash.

He said that despite an aftercast from the Met Office that noted there was “significant turbulence in the area,” this was not unusual.

He told the court there could be up to 100 days of significant turbulence per year, particularly in Scotland, but it would not prevent a helicopter flying.

“It would likely be a bit bumpy but it would not stop a pilot flying,” he explained. “There are hundreds of helicopters flying in such conditions and they do not all come down.”

Mr Conradie had previously told the inquiry that the vertical fin had come away, swinging underneath and into the area of the tail rotor. This had resulted in the tail rotor and gearbox coming away from the helicopter.

The inquiry also heard from John McGeoch, formerly airport manager at Cumbernauld, who said he had jokingly told Mr Ward and Mr Lapsley “not to be late as we will be closing at 5pm.” He said the men had delayed their flight north as they were awaiting Christmas presents.

Mr McGeoch said that he exchanged banter with the men who were in “fine fettle” prior to taking off from Cumbernauld.

The inquiry before Sheriff Lindsay Foulis continues.