Disaster pilot ‘had instinct to reduce casualties’

Captain Peter Barnes, 50, whose stunt flying featured in action blockbusters including a Bond film, died when his craft spun out of control and crash-landed after clipping a crane on top of a residential skyscraper.

Pedestrian Matthew Wood, 39, described as a “lovely, cuddly teddy bear”, was also killed as he was walking to work as a manager at a pest control firm in Vauxhall.

Twelve people were injured in the incident near a busy train line and several apartment blocks. Police said, however, it was “something of a miracle” it had not been worse.

Captain Barnes’s brother Chris, from Nottingham, said: “It’s a matter of instinct, it’s what pilots do. He had 25 years and 10,500 hours experience. He was very good at what he did.

“Our condolences go out to the family of the other man who was killed; that’s the last thing my brother would have wanted to happen.”

Paying tribute to his brother, who had also worked for the Great North Air Ambulance Service, among others, Mr Barnes said: “He was outgoing, very personable.

“A good-looking guy with an irrepressible smile. When he walked into a room you knew he was there, he lit up a room. He was a good guy.”

Mr Barnes had two children, 12-year-old Alexandra and eight-year-old Freddie, with his partner Rebecca Dixon, 39.

She said: “Obviously he would have been frantic and the lives of others would have been at the forefront of his mind. It sums up the man. I find it very comforting and so do the children.”

Neighbours of Mr Wood, who lived alone with his two cats in Sutton, Surrey, have spoken of their shock. Grandmother Yvonne Humphries, 63, a playschool volunteer who was a neighbour for about 12 years, broke down in tears as she heard the news.

She said: “I can’t believe it’s him. He was just a lovely, cuddly guy. He was so big and you could get hold of him, he was like a teddy bear.”

Captain Barnes, whose stunt flying had featured in films such as Die Another Day, Saving Private Ryan and Tomb Raider II, was alone in the aircraft amid thick cloud when it clipped the crane.

The helicopter was undertaking a commercial flight from Redhill, Surrey, to Elstree, Hertfordshire, but Captain Barnes asked to be diverted to Battersea heliport because of bad weather.