Grandmother 'blown over' by helicopter at Plymouth's Derriford Hospital months before fatal incident

A grandmother says she was blown over by a helicopter landing at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital just months before a similar incident resulted in a woman’s death.

Avril Cooms, from Mount Wise, was knocked over during a visit to the hospital in October 2021.

The 75-year-old says she was left shaken - but decided not to report it because she believed it was an isolated incident.

Her husband Chris has since spoken out in the wake of the death of 87-year-old Jean Langdan.

Mrs Langdan died after she was blown over by a Coastguard helicopter landing at the hospital last week.

Coastguard helicopters have since been banned from landing at the site and the car park next to it has closed to visitors.

“I now feel we were very lucky,” he said. 

“We didn’t report it at the time because we saw it as an isolated incident. But there needs to be a change to the landing platform now.”

The couple arrived at the hospital for an appointment in October.

They parked in the bays closest to the helipad because Mrs Cooms has Parkinson’s and limited mobility.

But as Mrs Cooms exited the car, she was blown over by a helicopter as it landed nearby.

“The first thing I thought was that it must have been an emergency,” Mr Cooms said. 

“As it came in my wife was standing in the middle of the car park and was suddenly blown over between two parked cars. She was very shaken.”

Mrs Langdan's death is being investigated by Devon and Cornwall Police and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has confirmed the helicopter was flying a patient in for treatment at the time of Mrs Langdan’s death.