Fuel pipe caused police helicopter crash

An official inquiry into why the aircraft's engines stopped in mid air traced the disaster to the fuel pipe.

The crew of the helicopter suffered minor injuries in an emergency landing at Gorslas near Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire, which wrote off the aircraft.

The Air Accident Investigations Bureau has recommended making changes to the pre-flight check list to avoid any future accidents.

Last December, the force was given the go ahead by the police authority to buy a replacement helicopter, at a cost of £3m.

The accident followed an incident in April 2000, when the South Wales Police helicopter crashed into the roof of a Cardiff house while pursuing a stolen car.

Dyfed-Powys Police's eight-seat Augusta 109 Power came down on Christmas Day 2001 near a dual carriageway at Cross Hands, injuring two of its crew.

Initially, it was thought the aircraft had developed mechanical problems as the crew returned to the force's headquarters in Carmarthen.

The helicopter had been taking a patient to Morriston Hospital in Swansea, and it was on its way back to the base when it was forced to land near a scrap yard.

The civilian pilot and one of the two police officers on board were released after treatment at the West Wales General Hospital at Carmarthen.

The second officer was unharmed.