Accident specialists with the U.K. government have launched investigations into the early morning Jan. 16 helicopter crash into a crane attached to a 180-meter-tall residential building under construction in central London. Both the helicopter pilot and a man in the street were killed. Six days after the accident, the building contractor started removing the damaged crane and ordered a replacement to complete the Tower, One St George Wharf project later this year.
The twin-engine Agusta A-109E helicopter flying with a pilot and no passengers struck the jib of the Comedil CTL180 luffing tower crane while flying in darkness and fog about 8 a.m. in the Vauxhall area, on the south bank of the River Thames.