Overview

• Robinson Helicopter’s chief executive said more than 80% of comparable general aviation crashes are ultimately attributed to pilot or human factors, while stressing it is too early to be certain in this case.
• Northumbria Helicopters rejected that suggestion as premature, defended instructor Captain Simon Hewitt’s record, and urged restraint, noting distinctions between professional and student pilot statistics.
• The AAIB said it remains too early to speculate on a cause, with the on-site phase concluded and the wreckage transported to its Farnborough headquarters for detailed examination.
• Hampshire Constabulary and the coroner are working alongside the AAIB, and the A3020 Shanklin Road has reopened following recovery operations.
• The victims were named as Captain Simon Hewitt, 54, Justyna Czoska, 52, and Wojciech Kowalkowski, 49, and the fourth occupant, a man in his 30s, is in a stable condition in hospital.