Overview

• Robinson Helicopter Company's chief executive said more than 80% of comparable accidents are ultimately ruled pilot error, while stressing it is too early to know the cause of this crash.
• Northumbria Helicopters defended instructor Captain Simon Hewitt as highly skilled and said any suggestion of pilot error is premature, urging restraint until investigators report.
• The AAIB has launched a formal inquiry, with Hampshire Constabulary and the coroner also involved, and has moved the wreckage from Shanklin Road to its Farnborough facility.
• The Robinson R44 went into a spiral during a flying lesson near Shanklin on August 25, killing Captain Hewitt, Justyna Czoska, 52, and Wojciech Kowalkowski, 49, and injuring a man in his 30s who remains stable in hospital.
• Relatives have started a GoFundMe to repatriate Ms. Czoska and Mr. Kowalkowski to Poland and help cover funeral costs, sharing tributes to the couple.