Below is the footage of the ‘drunk driver’ Hovercraft pilot shortly before he was ‘taken ill’ and later arrested for drink driving, which has today landed him in prison, sourced from our friends at BBC Hampshire.
Shot on 22 June 2014, it ties in with what the court had been told by the MCA prosecutor, that the pilot had not kept to the normal line in approaching the Ryde terminal, veering toward Ryde Pier instead. When asked if he was OK, the Pilot slumped at the controls, so another HoverTravel employee took the controls.
What the video shows
The video shows the hover then failing to get up the ramp to the landing pad, travelling across instead. The craft then lowers.
Another pilot (with rucksack) soon rushes toward the craft. Less than three minutes later the replacement Pilot has the craft mounting the incline, then landing safely, so passengers could get off.
Medics arrive
35 seconds in to the video, a medical team is led on site, straight on to the craft to attend to the original Pilot.
The footage was given by Hovertravel to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as part of the investigation.
The video
Update 17:31 Added extra detail
