Vauxhall helicopter pilot 'did not want to fly' on crash day

A "very experienced" pilot who died when his helicopter crashed in Vauxhall in south London was "under pressure on the day to fly", an inquest has heard.

Pete Barnes, 50, was killed when the helicopter struck a crane on St George Wharf Tower on 16 January 2013.

The day before the pilot told a colleague he faced "extreme pressure" to pick up a client but "he didn't really want to fly", it was said.

RotorMotion staff have said there was no pressure from the client.

Southwark Coroner's Court heard he took off from Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey and was due to pick up restaurateur Richard Caring from Elstree in Hertfordshire, a regular client of RotorMotion. But the pilot diverted the Agusta 109 helicopter to Battersea heliport because of bad weather.

The day before the fatal crash Mr Barnes, a father-of-two from Berkshire, had flown for East Midlands air ambulance and in a handover phone conversation told pilot Shaun Tinkler-Rose that he was under "extreme pressure" to pick up Mr Caring.

Mr Tinkler-Rose said: "Probably 80% of the conversation was that he wasn't going to fly - 20% of the conversation regarding the weather was that, in his exact words, he may 'give it a go' and go up to Elstree and make some noise.

"The overall gist I got from the conversation was that he didn't really want to fly."

He added that the experienced pilot, who was called "the guru" in the industry, wanted to fly private jets as he was tired of the pressures of flying private helicopter clients.

"He did actually say that he was under pressure on the day to fly. He wasn't showing outward signs of worry, but he was a little bit cheesed off," Mr Tinkler-Rose said.

The inquest also heard from Susan Smith, an operations manager at RotorMotion, who said the businessman's staff never put undue pressure as safety concerns were "very clearly" understood.

"His PA (personal assistant) has never put pressure on us to fly. The pressure would be, 'please let me know in time', so that they can make alternative arrangements," Ms Smith said.

On Tuesday the pilot's partner, Rebecca Dixon, told jurors Mr Barnes had been worried about the fog but felt "a need to give it a go".

The hearing is also examining the death of pedestrian Matthew Wood, 39, from Sutton, south London, who was killed when the aircraft plunged to the ground.

The inquest continues.