'We were just doing our job'

By [dblackmore]

A pilot has thanked two engineers for helping him land on a bed of car tyres after his helicopter's landing gear failed.

Tory leader David Cameron was on board the Agusta A109A helicopter when the landing gear handle came off in the co-pilot's hand.

Pilot Philip Amadeus hovered a few feet above the ground at Redhill Aerodrome while his co-pilot and four passengers, including Mr Cameron, jumped out of the aircraft.

He then landed on the tyres which quick-thinking DNH Helicopter engineers Keith Wadman and Jack Sharam had dashed to a nearby garage to obtain.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Mr Amadeus, 54, said: "The tyres were a great idea because they stopped the tail from touching the ground."

Details of the incident in May 2008 were published in the past week in a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

The helicopter had been flying from Manchester to Battersea Heliport in London when co-pilot Henry Lawson pulled on the landing gear operating handle only for it to become detached.

He could not screw it back into place and tried to lower the gear by pushing down on the stub of the lever – but it failed to move.

While flying over Hertfordshire, Mr Amadeus, who owns Redhill Aerodrome-based helicopter charter company RotorMotion, told passengers he would need to divert to Redhill.

Experienced pilot Mr Amadeus, who can be spotted on television show The Apprentice flying Alan Sugar over London, was concerned that, when he landed the helicopter, the tail rotor could touch the ground and cause the helicopter to roll over.

Mr Amadeus disembarked the passengers when the aircraft was hovering at around three feet above the ground before landing on the tyres in a remote part of the airfield.

He said: "It wasn't very dramatic. There was no danger of the helicopter crashing.

"We just thought it was a good idea to get the passengers out in case the tail rotor touched the ground.

"It wasn't anything heroic – we were just doing what we do. Flying and landing safely is our job."

No one was hurt in the landing and Mr Cameron was flown to London in another helicopter.

Mr Amadeus said: "I did get a nice phone call from David Cameron after we got him to London – he left while I was still hovering above the ground."

He added: "It was a very unusual thing to happen to a helicopter. I've never heard of it happening before, but you train to deal with pressure so you deal with the situation – and to me hovering is like riding a bike."

Although Mr Amadeus, whose fleet of four RotorMotion helicopters have flown a host of famous passengers, including Kate Moss, Rod Stewart and Tony Blair, has played down the drama of the landing, Mr Cameron has praised the actions of the pilot.

He said: "All of us on the helicopter were hugely grateful to the pilot. He dealt with a potentially dangerous situation with bravery, calmness and professionalism."