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Ed Helicopter Crashes into Glasgow Pub

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Helicopter crashes into Glasgow pub

A police helicopter crashed into the roof of a pub crowded with Friday-night revelers in the Scottish city of Glasgow, trapping a number people under the debris, rescuers and witnesses said.

Urban search and rescue specialists were working to make The Clutha Bar safe to access so firefighters can pull victims out, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

People remained trapped inside the one-story building, and communication was established between those trapped in the debris and rescuers, said Lewis Ramsay of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
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And? People who start threads usually post an argument, observation or point of view.
 
The pictures seem to show intact main rotor blades sticking out of the roof. And some witnesses say it didn't make much if any noise before the crash(although at least one said it sounded like a low flying airplane), and there doesn't seem to have been much of a fire afterwards*. I'm wondering if they just ran out of gas.

*According to what I read on CNN and BBC websites
 
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It would appear the engine cut out and the helecopter went down using an emergency technique to try and cushion the landing. Unfortunately it landed on a very large flat roof that covered a couple of pubs. The building is very old and the roof could not take the weight so the copter crashed through it.

Thankfully there has been no fuel spill or fire or else the casualty numbers would be horrific. It appears most have got out.

I have never seen twitter in action before. There were so many people there it has gone mad and there is tons of info and photos.
 
I have been in the pub and used to work in the next building up in Stockwell St. It is famous for its music and Billy Connolly has played and drunk there. It is one of Glasgows oldest and most famous pubs.

The flat roof is a feature of many old pubs which were part of tenement buildings. When the tenement flats above the pub were demolished the pub would remain.
 
Nessie said:
It would appear the engine cut out and the helecopter went down using an emergency technique to try and cushion the landing....
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When I was in a U.S. Army aviation unit (helicopters) a technique we trained on was called auto rotation. It's a technique used to safely descend when the engine fails by using the air flow through the main rotor blades to slow the helicopter's descent. Just before landing the pilot kicks over the starter to level the ship. If the pilot does it right they can turn a potential crash into a "hard landing."

Nessie said:
Thankfully there has been no fuel spill or fire or else the casualty numbers would be horrific...
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That's good, hopefully no one was killed or severely injured only...some times that's also a sign of what aviators call "fuel exhaustion."
 
Well, it's interesting how everything and everyone, tragedy or not, is an excuse to mock the gun issues.

The OP is a good example of that kind of irresponsible mockery, as are some of the anti-gun threads.
 
jj said:
Well, it's interesting how everything and everyone, tragedy or not, is an excuse to mock the gun issues.

The OP is a good example of that kind of irresponsible mockery, as are some of the anti-gun threads.
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The difference between gun owners and pilots, though, is that pilots must have a federally issued license to own/operate any aircraft or be fined/jailed. They're subject to such intense scrutiny as to make commercial drivers seem uncontrolled by comparison.

I wish gun ownership was more like that.
 
lionking said:
And? People who start threads usually post an argument, observation or point of view.
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Well, this is a forum for current events.

News is reporting victims still trapped, over 10 hours later. But few confirmed details. It
wasn't till an hour ago that they released the info that 32 were taken to hospital.

And sadly now deaths are being mentioned officially.
 
The BBC are reporting three deaths, at the moment*, with people still trapped in the wreckage nearly 12 hours into the incident. Hospital staff have said that some of the injuries they are dealing with are horrific.

We do not know whether the helicopter pilot is among the dead. I suspect that if he is still alive, he is among the injured. I think the title of this thread is in appallingly bad taste.

I was just leaving a cinema near Glasgow last night at the time this happened. Not a care in the world. Just like those in the pub, I suppose, before the world collapsed on them.

Rolfe.

* ETA: BBC page now amended to only one death, though the situation still seems fluid.
 
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Rolfe said:
The BBC are reporting three deaths, at the moment, with people still trapped in the wreckage nearly 12 hours into the incident. Hospital staff have said that some of the injuries they are dealing with are horrific.

We do not know whether the helicopter pilot is among the dead. I suspect that if he is still alive, he is among the injured. I think the title of this thread is in appallingly bad taste.

I was just leaving a cinema near Glasgow last night at the time this happened. Not a care in the world. Just like those in the pub, I suppose, before the world collapsed on them.

Rolfe.
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My daughter has messaged me to say six deaths now unofficially reported. Other relatives of mine were due to go there, but the band they wanted to see wasn't playing, so they went somewhere else.
 
I'm glad to hear your relatives are safe, Craig.

I wish someone would change the title of this thread. Does anyone know if the helicopter pilot is among the dead?

Today is St. Andrew's Day, too. Scotland's national day. Events in the city are being cancelled to alleviate pressure on the emergency services. I wonder, if there had been a serious fatal accident in the USA on the 4th of July, and someone in Scotland had started a thread trying to make a stupid political point about it, whether the Americans would be happy?

Rolfe.
 
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I'm getting news that Westboro Baptist Church attributes the Clutha Bar tragedy to the fact that
God hates Scotland, where they marry the fag beasts
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Which isn't true, yet, I don't think. The Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church (the Catholic Cathedral is in the same street, a few dozen yards from the pub,) I hope take a different view of the reason for this tragedy. One death officially announced so far, but I think more will come. How terrible this is. When you know a place well, it seems unreal.
 
The fag beast marriage bill is in front of Parliament in Edinburgh just now, under the guise of a Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill. It passed the first of three parliamentary stages this month by 98 votes to 15 with five abstentions. I hope God doesn't get more annoyed about it, if this is how He has chosen to express his disapproval.
 
There is some truly appalling stuff around. One tweeter (someone called "jammy1690" so you can work it out from that) said he wished the helicopter had landed on Alex Salmond's head and killed him.

In fact Jim Murphy (Labour MP, for the non-locals) was very near by at the time, and helped with the rescue effort. He is being widely commended for his actions.

Rolfe.
 
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Rolfe said:
I wish someone would change the title of this thread.
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It's distasteful, but then again there are plenty of similar titles/posts on the forum. Stands out more when the events are close to home.

Perhaps though the gun-stuff is getting out of hand - maybe another sub-forum?
 
Rolfe said:
There is some truly appalling stuff around. One tweeter (someone called "jammy1690" so you can work it out from that) said he wished the helicopter had landed on Alex Salmond's head and killed him.

In fact Jim Murphy (Labour MP, for the non-locals) was very near by at the time, and helped with the rescue effort. He is being widely commended for his actions.

Rolfe.
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For persons outside Scotland and Ireland, the "1690" indicates that the person is an extremist Protestant of the Orange bigot variety.

ETA "Jammy" means lucky or fortunate in the local patois.
 
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