The last words of a helicopter pilot who died after a mid-air collision with another man piloting a helicopter have been revealed, as investigations into the crash continue.
Peter Ritter, 29, and Gavin U’Ren, 30, were operating their Robinson R22 helicopters on an aerial rendezvous operation in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on July 25.
The two men were working for Broome-based Pearl Coast Helicopters above Mount Anderson Station before crashing midair at a height of about 100 feet.
Both pilots died tragically in the accident.
Two other pilots who survived the incident had left with the pair after a briefing at around 5.15am that morning.
The other two pilots were to follow Ritter and U’Ren to the meeting location, according to a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), released on Friday.
The surviving pilots said they saw Ritter and U’Ren flying together, but “no risk of collision was detected.”
They contacted the two pilots by radio and one of them responded: “Yes, I’ll see you there,” moments before the crash.
Gavin U’ren, victim of the helicopter crash. He died in the collision on July 25.
Peter Ritter, helicopter crash victim. He and Mr. U’Ren were on an aerial rendezvous operation at the time of the crash.
One of the surviving pilots also told the ATSB that he was forced to maneuver his helicopter to avoid being hit by one of the falling helicopters.
“Examination of the wreckage found damage to the right side of one helicopter consistent with the impact of the rotor blades of the other, while there was no evidence of an in-flight breakup or loss of flight continuity before the collision.” said Dr Stuart Godley, director of transport safety at the ATSB.
Dr. Godley said the investigation is ongoing and will include further examination and analysis of evidence collected.
Both Mr. Ritter and Mr. U’Ren were experienced pilots and had no medical restrictions on flying.
The four helicopters that participated in the rendezvous operation had been using the same fuel without problems.
The cause of the fatal collision has not yet been determined and a final report is expected to be delivered early next year.
Pictured is the location of the crash site near Mount Anderson Station in Camballin in WA.
Pearl Coast Helicopters issued a statement about the tragedy at the time.
“Pearl Coast Helicopters is deeply saddened to report the tragic loss of two of our valued and highly experienced pilots in a helicopter accident at Mount Anderson Station today,” the company said.
“The accident is devastating and we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the pilots involved, as well as our team, who are deeply affected by this loss.”
Just weeks before the tragedy, U’Ren opened up about his love of helicopters in an interview with Farm Weekly.
“Watching them work and ride in helicopters from time to time made me realize that’s what I wanted to do,” Mr. U’Ren said.
“Becoming companions with some pilots, seeing the life they live, moving around and seeing a very beautiful landscape just makes it concrete.”
The pilots took off shortly after 6am on July 25 for rendezvous work over the Kimberley region of WA.
