Copter crash shown live on TV

Copter crash shown live on TV

A helicopter putting up Christmas tree lights became tangled in cables before breaking up 25ft above the ground - and was broadcast live to hundreds of horrified viewers in New Zealand.

The chopper was helping to install a giant Christmas tree on the waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand when it's rotor blades clipped electricity wires causing it to spin out of control.

The aircraft lurched into a pylon which sheared its tail section off sending nearby workers sprinting for cover.

The drama unfolded in front of a TV New Zealand camera crew and the footage incredibly broadcast LIVE on their website.

Video showed the pilot of the B2 Squirrel helicopter being thrown violently around the cabin before the craft smashes into the ground.

Incredibly the cockpit remained intact and the pilot - named as Greg Gribble - walked away from the crash with the assistance of two men who had helped out of the wreckage.

Gribble, an experienced chopper pilot with thousands of flying hours, was taken to hospital for precautionary monitoring and later released.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) safety inspector Steve Walker said: "He was lucky to walk away from this."

Walker added that it was "extraordinary" that no ground staff had been hit by flying wreckage.

Gribble had been hired by NZ company Telecom Corp. to put up a 26-metre (85-foot) high fibre optic Christmas tree on the Auckland waterfront.

Telecom said on its official Twitter feed: "Can confirm the helicopter that crashed was putting up our Xmas tree. We're really happy to confirm pilot and ground crew all OK."

- www.thesun.co.uk

To view video, click http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/news/sky-news/3954241/Lucky-escape-at-chopper-crash.html