London helicopter crash pilot named by sources as Pete Barnes (VIDEO)

Jan 16 2013 By Cheryl Mullin

A HELICOPTER pilot who died today in a crash in central London that claimed the life of one other person and injured several others has been named by sources as Pete Barnes.

Mr Barnes, who has piloted helicopters in action scenes in movies Die Another Day, Tomb Raider II and Saving Private Ryan, worked for flight operator RotorMotion.

The helicopter spun out of control and crash-landed near Vauxhall station after the pilot attempted to divert the aircraft to a helipad due to bad weather.

The AgustaWestland 109 Power clipped a crane on top of one of Europe’s tallest residential towers, falling from the sky before exploding into flames and crashing into the streets below.

Captain Philip Amadeus, managing director of RotorMotion, an executive helicopter charter business, said the aircraft was on a commercial flight from Redhill, in Surrey, to Elstree.

He said: “Our main priority now is for the family of the pilot and we extend our greatest sympathy to the friends and relatives of those who have died and been injured.”

Addressing a press conference near the scene of the incident, Commander Neil Basu, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “It was something of a miracle that this was not many, many times worse.''

It is understood the eight-seater aircraft was owned by Cornwall-based Castle Air but was leased to RotorMotion, which is based at Redhill Aerodrome.

Staff at Redhill Aerodrome confirmed it left the site at 7.35am amid low cloud cover and poor visibility, while the owner of London Heliport said he requested to land at one of its sites via Heathrow air traffic control.

But the Heliport never established contact with the pilot and shortly before 8am the aircraft crashed into the crane on top of The Tower in the St George Wharf development on the River Thames.