Sun, Oct 09, 2011
A Potential Disaster Was Averted By Humberside Police After A
Vehicle Was Left Abandoned On A Railroad Track In Hull
A former Royal Navy pilot who had spent some time as a train
operator helped prevent a train from colliding with a car in the UK
on Monday. The incident happened on the afternoon of October 3rd at
when a car was requested to stop on Witty Street in Humberside, UK
by a police patrol on the ground and failed to do so. The driver of
the silver Ford Mondeo sedan eventually abandoned the vehicle on
the railway lines close to Hawthorn Avenue leaving it in the path
of an oncoming train.
MD 902 Explorer Military Variant
The force helicopter flown by former Royal Navy helicopter pilot
Katheryn Chapman was called to the scene to help stop the train
which was travelling on the eastbound line and officers from the
Air Support Unit were able to alert the driver and stop the train
before it was in collision with the car. Chapman told the Yorkshire
Post she had been a train operator in 2007 and 2008 before joining
the police.
Chapman said she had to fly the helo, an MD 902, at its "maximum
speed" of about 120 knots to overtake the train before pulling
to a hover and using the aircraft's landing lights to alert the
train crew that there was a problem ahead. The train was stopped
safely at around 2:26 p.m. local time.
According to a police news release, nobody was injured in the
incident and the vehicle was recovered by police as short time
after the incident. The driver of the vehicle, a 40-year-old Hull
man, was arrested by officers at the scene for failing to stop and
suspected drugs offences. He has now been released on police bail
pending further enquiries.
"This was a reckless act by the driver of the vehicle, which could
have resulted in the deaths of a number of people, but as a result
of the quick thinking of the Humberside Police helicopter crew it
was avoided," said Chief Superintendent (Operations) Colin Andrews.
"It is not the first time the Humberside Police helicopter has
prevented a train crash. The pilot and crew on board are to be
congratulated for their quick thinking, which prevented a potential
tragedy. This incident is just one example of how versatile the
force helicopter can be."
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