Helicopter hits a kite being f lown 1,000ft up

A HELICOPTER narrowly avoided going out of control when it was hit by a kite hundreds of feet in the air.

The aircraft was being flown by an experienced pilot at between 700 and 1,000 feet when it collided with the toy.

The pilot and four passengers continued their sightseeing journey over Kent.

However when he inspected the helicopter later, he discovered that if the kite had struck just inches lower it could have caused him to lose control.

An official report revealed that the string of the kite – which was being flown at five times the legal altitude limit – had been coated with an abrasive substance.

This is common in the sport of kite fighting, which is popular in Pakistan and India and sees flyers try to cut down opponents’ toys.

The 45-year-old pilot told the Air Accidents Investigation Branch that he was flying to Canterbury and back. He was passing over the coast when he was forced to take ‘avoiding action’.

He said: ‘When I landed, I discovered the damage to the rotors, windscreen and tail fin. The marks to the top of the fin showed that if it had made contact inches lower, it would have hit the tail rotor. That would have put me in trouble, as loss of tail-rotor control is a serious emergency in a helicopter.’

He said he had flown the route before but never seen kites in the area. An investigation established that the kite was probably being flown from Sandwich Bay beach, which is frequently used by enthusiasts.

The incident is the second collision between a kite and an aircraft in a year, and has led to concerns that action is not being taken against fliers who break the 200ft height limit.

In the report, AAIB investigators noted: ‘In a number of other countries, kite fighting is a competitive sport where the objective is to cut the string of an opponent’s kite.

‘ To facilitate the cutting action, the upper parts of the kite string may be coated with an abrasive substance.

‘There is evidence that a number of different coastal locations in the UK are used for kite flying at heights above 200ft but the activity is not being notified.’

A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said: ‘This was the first time we received a report relating to fighting kites. We take all reports seriously.’

‘A serious emergency’