Horror as couple plunged to ground in helicopter

Paul Spencer, 43, a wealthy businessman, who was flying the aircraft, and his wife Linda, 59, were killed when they crashed in Rudding Park luxury resort in Harrogate, on 26 January 2008, an inquest heard yesterday.

Serious flaws later emerged in Mr Spencer’s training, which was not sufficient to grant him a licence, the hearing was told.

Mr Spencer had picked up his new military-style Gazelle aircraft from Essex on the day he died and flown back to the park, where the couple, from Brighouse, who ran Country Baskets in East Ardsley, Leeds, owned a lodge, North Yorkshire Coroner Rob Turnbull said.

The entrepreneur, who had held his helicopter licence for just six weeks, took Mrs Spencer on a flight over nearby Knaresborough but lost control as they returned to the resort at around 4pm.

Witnesses told the inquest at Harrogate’s Cedar Court Hotel they watched the low-flying machine pitch and tilt on to its end before plunging below the treeline.

Bernard Reed, a former neighbour of the Spencers at Rudding Park, spotted the helicopter floundering and falling.

“He went down, we heard a thud... just a big thud and that was it,” he said. “He was too low and maybe a gust of wind took him into the top of the trees.”

Mr Reed drove across the park to the scene, a wooded area, where another man was already trying to clear branches and debris so he could reach the wreckage.

“The helicopter was lying on its side,” he said. “The engine was about two metres away from where I was standing. It was still smoking.

“All I could smell was aviation fuel.

“I checked Linda Spencer first and I couldn’t find a pulse.

“Paul Spencer’s lips were moving, but only for a split second, and that was it. There was nothing I could do.”

The emergency services arrived soon after, he added.

A post-mortem revealed Mrs Spencer died immediately of multiple injuries. Mr Spencer may have survived for “a few breaths” but his multiple injuries were so serious he could not have survived, a pathologist concluded.

Mr Reed said there were “really high gusts of wind” on the afternoon of the crash.

Witness Scott Woodford, who lived in Knaresborough and was taking his daughter and step daughter to a horse riding school nearby, said he initially thought Mr Spencer was performing some sort of stunt.

“I saw the cockpit drop, the tail go up into the air and it turned over,” he recalled. “At first I thought they were trying to do some sort of landing manoeuvre or stunt and then realised they were in trouble and it was going to crash.”

Air accident investigators later highlighted “several areas of concern”, Mr Turnbull told the jury at the inquest which is due to last four days.

“They reviewed Mr Spencer’s logbook... and that highlighted some concerns,” the coroner said.

The fact Mr Spencer got his licence after just ten days of training was “not impossible” but “highly unusual”.

Mr Turnbull added: “The conclusion of the experts in this case is that the cause of the crash is adverse weather conditions and the fact that the pilot had not received sufficient training to qualify for his licence.”

The Civil Aviation Authority found “the majority of flights” recorded as proof of training “did not occur”, the jury heard.

The hearing continues.