Brits in helicopter accident named

Local authorities have named two British men killed in a helicopter accident near Tourrettes-sur-Loup yesterday morning.

Pilot Martin Rutty, 50, Director of the Herefordshire based Fly Q helicopter company, died alongside Simon Lichtenstein,49, when their Robinson 22 aircraft crashed into woodland in the Loup valley around 9am. The two men, who were travelling between Sospel and Avignon perished shortly after take off.

Crash site rescue teams found that the helicopter had disintegrated, with the wreckage spread over a radius of 100 metres. Some eyewitness reports suggest that the aircraft began to break up shortly before impact.

A mechanical failure is thought to be the cause of the crash, with reports that a struggling chopper flew over the area shortly before the crash. However reports of a strong headwind in the area could have exacerbated any technical fault.  

Rutty and Lichtenstein were five-time former British National Helicopter champions and represented Great Britain in the 2008 World Helicopter Championships.

An inquiry will now begin into the cause of the crash.

TD