Copter From Ship Andrew Teaches on Crashes, 2 Killed
LISBON — Two men were killed when a British Royal Navy helicopter crashed off the Portuguese coast after taking off from a warship that Prince Andrew was aboard, officials said today.
A Portuguese navy spokesman said the Lynx helicopter crashed Thursday night less than three-fourths of a mile from the training ship Engadine, where Andrew was on duty as a helicopter warship instructor.
Andrew, 28, is the third eldest of Queen Elizabeth II’s four children and a naval helicopter pilot.
A British Defense Ministry spokesman refused to say whether Andrew was involved in the planning of the helicopter’s test flight.
“It is normal practice not to reveal who is involved in the planning of operations,” he said. “The whole thing will go before the Board of Inquiry.”
An informal lunch that President Mario Soares was to have put on for Andrew today was canceled because of the accident.
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