History

Vauxhall 2013 and what changed

AAIB findings, ten recommendations, obstacle data and Thames route procedures

Hero image: David Holt, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

AAIB findings, ten recommendations, obstacle data and Thames route procedures.

Key facts

2013 (16 January)Vauxhall crane collision, Agusta A109E G-CRST
About 07:59 GMT, helicopter diverting to London Heliport in freezing fog struck the jib of a crane on St George Wharf Tower. Pilot Pete Barnes and pedestrian Matthew Wood died; 12 injured. gov.uk
Confidence: verified (AAIB); casualty detail via Wikipedia citing BBC
2014 (9 September)AAIB report AAR 3/2014 and ten safety recommendations
Causes: pilot turned onto a collision course with the crane and did not see it or saw it too late; contributory: continued to London Heliport despite being unable to stay clear of cloud. Recommendations 2014-025/026 (CAA/ANSPs to assess obstacles near VFR routes incl. London Thames helicopter routes) closed adequate 22 Dec 2014; 2014-027 asks DfT for a UK-wide obstacle data reporting mechanism. gov.uk page updated 25 Nov 2015. gov.uk
Confidence: verified (AAIB report page and recommendation document)

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Facts on this page come from these sources, last checked 2026-11-03. Where a source could not be reached or did not say, we left the fact out.