An Enstrom F28-C helicopter similar to that which crashed.

On the 3rd of May 1997 a civil helicopter took off from the small Bagby private airstrip to fly to a hotel in Scarborough. The weather was fine but near Ebberston the helicopter entered a layer of coastal cloud combined with a haze. At first the pilot could see through this haze but visual contact with the ground was hard. He tried to make a 180 degree turn to get out of this cloud but whilst doing this he lost his slight of the ground, he then let his speed and height drop. His visual contact with the ground was regained at only afew metres, this allowed him to level the helicopter out in time before it struck the ground, at 12.50 hrs, on the right skid, which then collapsed. The helicopter then rolled over onto its right side and the main rotor blades dug in to the soil. The helicopter sustained damaged to its main rotor, tail rotor, right skid and fuselage. The pilot and his passenger then climbed out of the helicopter without being injured. A local farmer who witnessed the crash called the emergancy services who were soon at the scene. The crash was blamed on a loss of visual contact with the ground and the pilots lack of instrument flying

Pilot - Mr Ray Allott, aged 30, uninjured.

Passenger - Ms Michelle Green, aged 30, uninjured.

Both were from the Harrogate area.

I have not yet visited the crash site.