British pilot, 48, 'miraculously' escaped fireball crash that killed two after helicopters battling Greece's wildfires collided mid-air

Published: 13:25, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 13:26, 4 August 2026 The family of a British pilot who 'miraculously' escaped a crash that killed two people after helicopters collided mid-air have paid tribute to his 'careful skill'. Andrew Hutchinson, 48, was battling wildfires onboard the helicopter in Greece when it clashed with the rotors of another aircraft, causing the deaths of a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. Emergency services rushed to the scene in the Psatha region of Attica, 42 miles west of Athens and transported the crew members to the 251st Air Force General Hospital. The helicopters, manufactured by US company Bell, were each carrying two passengers and had taken off from the Elefsina military airport.  Mr Hutchinson, an aerial firefighter who runs a helicopter business in Northallerton, Yorkshire, had come to Greece to help tackle the wildfires. Striking footage shows one of the aircraft slowly approaching the other – before their rotors clash and the helicopter erupts into a fireball and plummets into a ravine. Mr Hutchinson told his family that he and the Greek fire co-ordinator with him managed to escape the aircraft before it exploded after crashing to the ground without power.  His uncle, Michael Hutchinson, 74, described his nephew's survival as 'miraculous' – saying there are 'not many other pilots' who could have landed a helicopter without the rotors. Andrew Hutchinson (pictured), 48, was battling wildfires onboard the helicopter in Greece when it clashed with the rotors of another aircraft Two helicopters crashed into each other while fighting wildfires in Greece. They collided in the Psatha region of Attica, west of Athens Striking footage shows one of the aircraft slowly approaching the other - before their propellers clash and the helicopter erupts into a fireball and plummets to the ground  He told The Times: 'He crashed badly in the wood and managed to get out just in time. His phone was all burnt up. He left that behind. He and the officer who was with him got out just before the helicopter exploded. 'I was up with him once when he was learning and he performed autorotation [where an helicopter is landed without power]. He said, "I'll just switch the engine off." I said "what?" And he came down and landed it with no engine. 'He's been flying helicopters for a long, long time. He's a really careful lad. He knows what he is doing.' Mr Hutchinson, a father-of-three, had spent years carrying out specialist helicopter work around the world. He had recently helped dampen grass fires in Wales and spent several months at a time in Australia. His wife, Dawn, and their children, have travelled to Athens from their home near Northallerton in North Yorkshire to accompany him. Mr Hutchinson is said to currently be having 'some plates and pins' put in his spine and will be flying home shortly. Hailing from a farming family, he had taught himself to fly after opting for a career in aviation. Wreckage of the helicopter strewn across a road near Psatha on Sunday evening His family had previously expressed worries about the nature of his work, Mr Hutchinson's uncle said, but the pilot insisted on pursuing it. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country's hot, dry summers. 'The pilots... were taken unconscious to hospital, where their death was confirmed,' the fire department's director of communications Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. The helicopters had been leased from Australia's McDermott Aviation, part of a fleet of 15. The company has said it has supported operations in Greece for the past seven years. The fire department grounded all Bell helicopters in the area pending an investigation, state TV ERT said. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed 'sorrow for the tragic accident' and extended condolences to the families of the firefighters killed in the crash. 'The loss of the Greek coordinator and the Danish pilot at the time they were attempting the major fire in Porto Germeno fills us all with grief,' Mr Mitsotakis said in a statement. Firefighters are seen battling bright orange flames caused by a wildfire near the village Agia Paraskevi, Greece Trees burn during a wildfire near the village Agia Paraskevi. The region north of Athens has been badly affected A Greek firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno, some 45 miles northwest of Athens A firefighting helicopter drops water over a wildfire in the area of Porto Germeno, just 45 miles off Athens  The accident raised the death toll from Greek fires to five, after three firefighters died in Crete and the Peloponnese. Hundreds of firefighters were battling wind-fuelled fires near Porto Germeno – a short distance north from Psatha – on the Gulf of Corinth, north-west of the capital. Authorities said strong winds made the fire spread more quickly and made it unpredictable for firefighters. 'The situation is extremely hard. We have really strong winds, gusts exceeding 73 kph (45 mph). The direction of the fire can't be determined easily,' doctor and firefighter Giorgos Doulas said. The fire department's deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told state TV ERT that the wind was so strong that firefighters on the scene 'couldn't even open their vehicle doors'. Greece's prime minister issued a warning about firefighting aircraft hours before the crash – saying they could not 'operate safely' in strong winds. Mr Mitsotakis made the comment in a Facebook post earlier today as he said despite the government's 'investment' of resources, there were 'times when the nature and intensity of weather phenomena exceed all human planning and operational capabilities'. Mr Mitsotakis added: 'When winds blow with such intensity, even the dozens of aerial assets at our disposal cannot operate safely. 'On several occasions in recent days, it was impossible to either draw water or drop it, as extreme turbulence made flights impossible, with the result that the burden of the fight fell almost exclusively on the people on the front lines.'