LONDON — The company identified the pilot as Peter Barnes, 50, whose career included flying in films including ‘‘Saving Private Ryan’’ and the James Bond movie ‘‘Die Another Day.’’
‘‘He was a very highly skilled pilot, one of the most experienced in the UK, with over 12,000 flying hours,’’ said Philip Amadeus, managing director of Rotor- Motion, an executive helicopter charter business.
The crash unfolded at the height of the morning commute when thousands of pedestrians in the area were trying to get to work. The weather at the time was overcast and misty with fog and poor visibility, according to the Met Office weather forecasting service.
Video from the scene showed wreckage burning in a street, and black smoke in the area, with a line of flaming fuel and debris marking the area where the helicopter went down. Witnesses said the disaster unfolded when the helicopter hit a crane atop a 50-story residential building, the St. George Wharf Tower.
‘‘I was 100 percent sure it was a terrorist attack,’’ said Allen Crosbie, site manager for a landscape firm who was working at the scene....
Oh, sorry, folks. False alarm. Just an "accident."
Oh, sorry, folks. False alarm. Just an "accident."
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