Pilot killed as TV helicopter crashes

A television news helicopter today crashed near a busy road in Brazil's largest city, killing the pilot and seriously injuring a cameraman on board.

The Record TV helicopter was destroyed after crashing on a grassy area next to the track of Sao Paulo's Jockey Club horse racing complex, a few hundred yards from heavy traffic on the thoroughfare.

Video from Globo TV showed the aircraft spinning out of control and plummeting to the ground as smoke belched from its engine.

Record TV said the pilot was pronounced dead at a hospital and the cameraman was seriously injured. They were the only two on board, and no-one on the ground was hurt.

The crash happened near the peak morning commute on the Marginal Pinheiros, one of Sao Paulo's busiest highways.

"The pilot was a hero because he was able to take the helicopter to a clear area, which is not something easy to do in Sao Paulo," air force Lt Col Ricardo Beltran Crespo told O Globo newspaper.

Globo's helicopter was flying in the same area when it received a distress call from the Record TV aircraft.

"The pilot reported a problem and I decided to follow him to see what was going on," Globo pilot Dato de Oliveira said. "He reported a problem on the tail, which is something rare, but it's vital in a helicopter."

Mr Oliveira landed his helicopter after the accident and rushed to try to help the victims. He said he turned the fuel pump and the battery off in the crashed aircraft to avoid an explosion.

The two helicopters were covering morning traffic and police response to a bank robbery.