Man Jailed for grabbing Helicopter

Davidth88

Really stupid action , but even as an aviation enthusiast I can see why he was annoyed , some rich neighbour lands in his garden and blows stuff/stones etc all over your car



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-10851311

A man has been sentenced to a year in prison for endangering the safety of an aircraft when he grabbed a helicopter as it took off in Bristol.

Bristol Crown Court was told Houshang Jafari, 58, became "extremely angry" after the helicopter landed near his flat, causing debris to hit his car.

The court heard how Jafari grabbed one of its skid bars as the pilot tried to take off with four passengers on board.

The pilot managed to take off safely despite Jafari's actions last March.


The court was told Jafari also kicked the helicopter
Dr Mark Blockland, who was in charge of the helicopter, was credited in court for using his "considerable skill" to allow it to take off safely despite it lurching violently.

Sentencing Jafari, Judge Michael Roach said it was a "deliberate and much more a reckless and dangerous act" and, despite the fact he was a business and family man, he had "no choice" other than to send him to prison.

The court had previously heard Dr Blockland had landed close to Dower House to pick up two passengers.

Jafari was said to have become angry when the private aircraft blew debris at his Range Rover.

He approached the helicopter, threw a bag of rubbish at its nose and then kicked it.

As the pilot tried to take off, Jafari grabbed the skid bar as it was about 6ft (1.83m) off the ground.

This caused the helicopter to lurch to the right. An eyewitness told the court the aircraft narrowly missed nearby houses as it "swerved around" and "flew erratically" away.

Pictures of the incident taken by another resident of Dower House were shown to the court.

seawolf145

Davidth88 wrote: »

Really stupid action , but even as an aviation enthusiast I can see why he was annoyed , some rich neighbour lands in his garden and blows stuff/stones etc all over your car



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-10851311

A man has been sentenced to a year in prison for endangering the safety of an aircraft when he grabbed a helicopter as it took off in Bristol.

Bristol Crown Court was told Houshang Jafari, 58, became "extremely angry" after the helicopter landed near his flat, causing debris to hit his car.

The court heard how Jafari grabbed one of its skid bars as the pilot tried to take off with four passengers on board.

The pilot managed to take off safely despite Jafari's actions last March.


The court was told Jafari also kicked the helicopter
Dr Mark Blockland, who was in charge of the helicopter, was credited in court for using his "considerable skill" to allow it to take off safely despite it lurching violently.

Sentencing Jafari, Judge Michael Roach said it was a "deliberate and much more a reckless and dangerous act" and, despite the fact he was a business and family man, he had "no choice" other than to send him to prison.

The court had previously heard Dr Blockland had landed close to Dower House to pick up two passengers.

Jafari was said to have become angry when the private aircraft blew debris at his Range Rover.

He approached the helicopter, threw a bag of rubbish at its nose and then kicked it.

As the pilot tried to take off, Jafari grabbed the skid bar as it was about 6ft (1.83m) off the ground.

This caused the helicopter to lurch to the right. An eyewitness told the court the aircraft narrowly missed nearby houses as it "swerved around" and "flew erratically" away.

Pictures of the incident taken by another resident of Dower House were shown to the court.

Was it the judge that was driving the chopper.

Steyr

seawolf145 wrote: »

Was it the judge that was driving the chopper.

Did you read it??? Dr Blockland was the Pilot of the Helicopter.

Steyr

You beat me to it DAVIDTH88!:cool:

Delancey

Slightly off topic but what ever happened to that dickhead who landed his helicopter on the roof ot Athlone shopping centre to get a key cut ?

Danbo!

delancey42 wrote: »

Slightly off topic but what ever happened to that dickhead who landed his helicopter on the roof ot Athlone shopping centre to get a key cut ?

Suspended sentence and a 5,000 fine

Delancey

Danbo! wrote: »

Suspended sentence and a 5,000 fine

Did he keep his Pilot license ?

opinion guy

seawolf145 wrote: »

Was it the judge that was driving the chopper.

Are you implying that you think the sentence was in some way unfair ?

So the guy was pissed off. Ermm, putting that aside for a moment, WHT KIND OF FREAKING IDIOT GRABS ONTO A CHOPPER AS IT IS TAKING OFF CAUSE HE IS MAD ? I mean there are these people called the police you can call when someone lands a chopper in your garden.

He put multiple lives in danger including his own.


Incidentally what happened the dude who crashed a chopper on Bettystown beach a year or two back ?

donkey balls

delancey42 wrote: »

Did he keep his Pilot license ?

afaik he got to keep his licence as it was issued by the FAA he seemingly had an incident later on in another heli that ran out of fuel:D
http://www.aaiu.ie/AAIUviewitem.asp?id=12285&lang=ENG&loc=1280

donkey balls

opinion guy wrote: »

Are you implying that you think the sentence was in some way unfair ?

So the guy was pissed off. Ermm, putting that aside for a moment, WHT KIND OF FREAKING IDIOT GRABS ONTO A CHOPPER AS IT IS TAKING OFF CAUSE HE IS MAD ? I mean there are these people called the police you can call when someone lands a chopper in your garden.

He put multiple lives in danger including his own.


Incidentally what happened the dude who crashed a chopper on Bettystown beach a year or two back ?

instructing somewhere in spain from what i heard

seawolf145

Steyr wrote: »

Did you read it??? Dr Blockland was the Pilot of the Helicopter.

I KNOW THAT`:BUT THE WAY THIS POOR MAN WAS SENTENCED YOU MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT `SO OK

seawolf145

opinion guy wrote: »

Are you implying that you think the sentence was in some way unfair ?

So the guy was pissed off. Ermm, putting that aside for a moment, WHT KIND OF FREAKING IDIOT GRABS ONTO A CHOPPER AS IT IS TAKING OFF CAUSE HE IS MAD ?

No your right i would have used a shotgun instead but thats me.

FruitLover

seawolf145 wrote: »

i would have used a shotgun instead

No, I don't think so.

seawolf145

FruitLover wrote: »

No, I don't think so.

I dont think so?

Davidth88

Hi

Listen the mans actions were unforgivable , if he had caused the aircraft to crash he would almost certainly have been killed as well .

Now , really the question is , what are the rules about landing helicopters ? By reading this I reckon this was a communal garden outside an apartment complex.

I too would be more than a little hacked off if someone landed their helicopter outside my apartment ( unless it was an emergency , or the emergency services of course ).

But I would be picking the phone up to the CAA ( in this case ) or the IAA here , but what would happen ? Was the helicopter ok to land where he did ?

seawolf145

Davidth88 wrote: »

Hi

Listen the mans actions were unforgivable , if he had caused the aircraft to crash he would almost certainly have been killed as well .

Now , really the question is , what are the rules about landing helicopters ? By reading this I reckon this was a communal garden outside an apartment complex.

I too would be more than a little hacked off if someone landed their helicopter outside my apartment ( unless it was an emergency , or the emergency services of course ).

But I would be picking the phone up to the CAA ( in this case ) or the IAA here , but what would happen ? Was the helicopter ok to land where he did ?

You have a great deal of responsibility as a pilot too,especially when you have passengers onboard.
Think twice about where you are landing.Not in someones backyard.Not mine anyway

http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/2815

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20325844/


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article535017.ece


Unless you are in an emergency think twice about where you are landing.
But i guess eveything is ok in Ireland\UK as long as you have money to buy oneI am sure you will get away with it then

cyrusdvirus

seawolf145 wrote: »

You have a great deal of responsibility as a pilot too,especially when you have passengers onboard.
Think twice about where you are landing.Not in someones backyard.Not mine anyway

http://www.advertiser.ie/athlone/article/2815

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20325844/


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article535017.ece


Unless you are in an emergency think twice about where you are landing.
But i guess eveything is ok in Ireland\UK as long as you have money to buy oneI am sure you will get away with it then

OK.. Your story about Athlone was dealt with in the thread, that guy got a fine and suspended sentence (too light IMO, but what do i know??)

Your second story is about some chap in Detroit.....Not too sure but i THINK that may be outside this states jurisdiction.

3rd Story was basically about people looking for planning permission to put in Helipads, not to go landing their privately owned/leased/borrowed/whatever helicopters all over the place...just where they had helipads.

AND it's from 2005, I'm sure if i went far enough back in time i could find an argument to take your argument outside and beat it up!!

Fact of the matter is this lunatic grabbed hold of a helicopter when it was taking off, putting everyone on board at risk, putting himself at risk, putting his precious car at risk from flying debris if he had caused it to crash. Oh, and anyone else living in the area too.

Should the pilot have landed there? Probably not, unless it is a recognised landing pad, which i'd doubt.
Should this idiot have grabbed the a/c as it was taking off? No

As Davidth88 said, get onto the CAA... If he was close enough to grab the helicopter, then he was close enough to read the reg and make a formal complaint about the pilot. Instead, cos he was an idiot, he got landed in jail, and good enough for him.

seawolf145

gatecrash wrote: »

OK.. Your story about Athlone was dealt with in the thread, that guy got a fine and suspended sentence (too light IMO, but what do i know??)

Your second story is about some chap in Detroit.....Not too sure but i THINK that may be outside this states jurisdiction.

3rd Story was basically about people looking for planning permission to put in Helipads, not to go landing their privately owned/leased/borrowed/whatever helicopters all over the place...just where they had helipads.

AND it's from 2005, I'm sure if i went far enough back in time i could find an argument to take your argument outside and beat it up!!

Fact of the matter is this lunatic grabbed hold of a helicopter when it was taking off, putting everyone on board at risk, putting himself at risk, putting his precious car at risk from flying debris if he had caused it to crash. Oh, and anyone else living in the area too.

Should the pilot have landed there? Probably not, unless it is a recognised landing pad, which i'd doubt.
Should this idiot have grabbed the a/c as it was taking off? No

As Davidth88 said, get onto the CAA... If he was close enough to grab the helicopter, then he was close enough to read the reg and make a formal complaint about the pilot. Instead, cos he was an idiot, he got landed in jail, and good enough for him.

And your point beiing?Dont grab a helicopter 6 foot of the ground cause your mad or dont land in someones backyard before you know its safe?

cyrusdvirus

seawolf145 wrote: »

And your point beiing?Dont grab a helicopter 6 foot of the ground cause your mad or dont land in someones backyard before you know its safe?

Both actually!!

seawolf145

gatecrash wrote: »

Both actually!!

Thank you.My point also why was this man the only one that had to go to prison.
Why did the pilot get away without anything.I know its stupid to jump onto a chopper 6 foot of the ground,but i think also the pilot got away a bit to easy.

That was my point about the cases shown above.
It doesnt have to be In Ireland or Uk,it could be anywhere.
I guess the aviation is followed by international rules and regulations as well.
If you are a captain of a boat,you just cant drop the anchor whereever it suits you,or berth your boat whereever you want,so why should piloting a chopper be any different.Is the air free for everyone to do what they want?

cyrusdvirus

seawolf145 wrote: »

Thank you.My point also why was this man the only one that had to go to prison.
Why did the pilot get away without anything.I know its stupid to jump onto a chopper 6 foot of the ground,but i think also the pilot got away a bit to easy.

Apologies, i misunderstood your argument. I thought that you were saying the judge was too harsh on the guy who ended up in the clink.

There could well be a prosecution in the offing for the pilot too, or an investigation by the CAA, we just haven't heard about it, and the judge may not have been able to comment on it for fear of fouling up the case.

Davidth88

seawolf145 wrote: »

Thank you.My point also why was this man the only one that had to go to prison.
Why did the pilot get away without anything.I know its stupid to jump onto a chopper 6 foot of the ground,but i think also the pilot got away a bit to easy.

Actually you ( and I ) don't know the full circumstances around this case. The CAA could well be taking some action , it could be the pilot had full permission to land there and the guy who grabbed the helicopter could be parked without permission

seawolf145

Davidth88 wrote: »

Actually you ( and I ) don't know the full circumstances around this case. The CAA could well be taking some action , it could be the pilot had full permission to land there and the guy who grabbed the helicopter could be parked without permission

I know, its a pity really that we dont know everything,but if this had happened in your backyard would the circumstances been different?

cyrusdvirus

seawolf145 wrote: »

I know, its a pity really that we dont know everything,but if this had happened in your backyard would the circumstances been different?

Well i'd doubt that any of us would have tired rugby tackling the helicopter.....

seawolf145

gatecrash wrote: »

Apologies, i misunderstood your argument. I thought that you were saying the judge was too harsh on the guy who ended up in the clink.

There could well be a prosecution in the offing for the pilot too, or an investigation by the CAA, we just haven't heard about it, and the judge may not have been able to comment on it for fear of fouling up the case.

I think the judge was a bit to harsh yes,but like you said,we dont know to much about the circumstances around the hole case,so its hard to say really,but endangering other peoples life have never been in anyones favor i guess
And no need to apology mate its only a good healthy discussion

seawolf145

gatecrash wrote: »

Well i'd doubt that any of us would have tired rugby tackling the helicopter.....

He he good oneYou hit the nail on the head

opinion guy

donkey balls wrote: »

[/B]

instructing somewhere in spain from what i heard

:eek:

jmayo

Nevermind all the talk where are the pictures that were shown in court ?

Maybe the guy had watched too many bruce willis, arnie movies. :rolleyes: