Pilot's death days after helicopter crash unrelated

The pilot and his student climbed free from the helicopter after it crashed at Leicester Airport

The death of a pilot just days after a helicopter crashed during a training flight was unrelated, an investigation has found.

The commander of the two-seater aircraft, which downed at Leicester Airport near Stoughton on 27 September last year, climbed unhurt from the helicopter while the pilot he had been instructing suffered a sore leg.

But four days later he fell ill, and died the following week.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report into the incident has concluded that his death, from a severe stroke, was unrelated and the crash landing was accidental.

The report published on Thursday found while a student "who had not flown for some time" had been practising hovering, the helicopter began to spin to the left.

The commander took control of the helicopter but it rotated four times and struck the ground at the airfield, CCTV at the site showed.

There were no faults found with the helicopter and pressing a foot pedal could have prevented the loss of control, said the AAIB.

But this pedal was only available on the controls of the trainee and not the commander.

The AAIB said manufacturer Guimbal has taken safety action including to install pedals in the left seat of all new Cabri G2 models.