Debris recovered at site of ’copter crash that left four dead

Two pilots killed in the crash in Norfolk were named as Carl Dickerson, chief pilot at Haughey Air Ltd, and Lee Hoyle, a co-pilot at the company, which was owned by the Tory entrepreneur who was one of the richest men in Northern Ireland.

The fourth man who died was named locally as Declan Small, 42, a foreman who worked for Lord Ballyedmond.

He came from Mayobridge in County Down.

Lord Ballyedmond’s AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter came down in thick fog in a field in Gillingham, near Beccles, at 7.30pm last Thursday.

A spokesman for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: “We are plotting the distribution of the debris on the field before removing fuel 
from the helicopter to make it safe.”

Meanwhile it has emerged that Haughey Air Ltd had lodged a writ against AgustaWestland over concerns about a helicopter it supplied.

The case was lodged in September last year and is understood to have included concerns about in-flight mapping 
systems.

A spokesman for AgustaWestland said the company could not comment on possible defects with Lord Ballyedmond’s AW139 VIP helicopter but said it was investigating.

Norfolk Police said the helicopter took off from Gillingham Hall shortly before the crash.

The crash site is an area of between 150 and 200 square metres, including ploughed fields, the force said.

All four people on board the helicopter were pronounced dead at the scene after it crashed in a field containing a wooded area, Norfolk Police said.

Following the crash Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to the peer, saying: “Lord Ballyedmond was a towering figure in Northern Irish business life, and passionate about peace and good relations north and south, east and west.

“He was a larger than life figure who was a great supporter of the Conservative party and a good friend to me.”