Pilot who died in helicopter crash named as Queen's personal envoy Barry Dodd

The pilot who died in a helicopter crash near Aldborough yesterday has been named as Barry Dodd, the Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire who acted as the Queen’s personal representative in the county.

The aircraft came down at around 1.25pm on Wednesday, police, with fire and rescue service and ambulance rushing to the scene.

No other passengers were on board.

North Yorkshire police released a statement today saying they believed the deceased was Mr Dodd, although formal identification has not yet taken place.

Mr Dodd, who was awarded a CBE for services to the UK economy, was given the honorary position of Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire in recognition of his contribution to the area.

The role involves arranging royal visits, attending public events and ‘upholding the dignity of the Crown’.

A police spokesperson said earlier today: ‘Sadly, the pilot of the private aircraft following the helicopter near Aldborough was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Whilst we await formal identification, we believe he is Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire, Mr Barry Dodd CBE.

‘Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.’

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Speaking at the scene shortly after the helicopter came down, North Yorkshire Police’s Dave Hannan said that the helicopter was on fire when officers arrived. He said that the force is now looking to establish where the craft was travelling.

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Mr Hannan said: ‘We are working with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the Civil Aviation Authority to establish what the cause of that crash was.

‘The emergency services (including) ourselves, the ambulance service and the fire service, all attended, as did the air ambulance.’

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said on Twitter that a number of engines from Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Harrogate and Ripon were sent to the incident, and hoses were used to ‘damp down the scene’.