Crash pilot 'ignored strong wind'

The couple were described as "wonderful" by their family

A couple died in a helicopter crash in weather conditions more experienced pilots may have avoided, a report said.

Businessman Paul Spencer, 43, and his wife Linda, 59, of Brighouse, West Yorkshire, died when their aircraft crashed in North Yorkshire in 2008.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has compiled a report on the crash.

It said Mr Spencer's "enthusiasm of having just taken delivery" of the aircraft may have overcome any concerns about strong and gusty wind conditions.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) concluded the main contributing factors to the accident were Mr Spencer's "lack of experience and probable inadequacies in his training".

Had his pilot colleagues known that Mr Spencer was intending to fly, "they would have tried to dissuade him from doing so", the AAIB said.

'Limited experience'

The report also said Mr Spencer, although experienced in flying fixed-wing aircraft, had only just qualified to fly helicopters.

The AAIB said its investigation had revealed "inconsistencies, and probably deficiencies" in Mr Spencer's training and his subsequent helicopter private pilot licence skills test.

The Gazelle helicopter crashed near a chalet the couple owned in the grounds of the Rudding Park hotel near Harrogate on the afternoon of 26 January 2008.

Mr Spencer had only recently acquired the helicopter

The report said Mr Spencer, a wholesale food entrepreneur, had expected to meet his family when he arrived at the chalet but found they had gone on a shopping trip to nearby Knaresborough.

The couple then took off in the Gazelle and circled the area of the shopping centre before flying back towards the hotel grounds.

The report said: "From the evidence it appears that the pilot, who had limited helicopter experience, was attempting to operate in weather conditions which more experienced pilots might have chosen to avoid."

The AAIB continued: "It is possible that the enthusiasm of having just taken delivery of the aircraft overcame any concerns about the weather.

"It is also possible that the same enthusiasm led to the low-level nature of the flight around the shopping centre where family members were believed to be present."

The AAIB made a number of recommendations, including asking the UK's Civil Aviation Authority to look at helicopter pilot training regulations.