Flyers have little control in a spin

HELICOPTERS are complex compared to airliners. There are more bits to them so more can go wrong.

The copter in Leicester is believed to have two engines operating from a gear box which drive the main rotor.

There is a subsidiary gear box which operates the engine for the tail rotor. It puts tremendous stress on the gear boxes. Witness statements say the tail was spinning. It sounds as if the tail rotor or the drive to the tail rotor was not doing what it should, was damaged or detached.

To get out of a football pitch it has to climb quite steeply. This puts a lot of stress on the engine power and gearbox, which 99.9% of the time they can cope with.

Then again if something goes wrong and the helicopter is in a spin, the pilot has little control.

When you lose engine power you can glide if handled skilfully. But if the helicopter starts to spin, it is impossible to get control of.