We almost lost another Beatle.
Paul McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, narrowly dodged death in a terrifying helicopter flight, it was reported yesterday.
Their chartered Sikorsky S-76C nearly snagged the tops of trees as its pilot tried to land at Sir Paul’s estate in East Sussex, England, on May 3, the UK Department of Transport says in documents obtained by Britain’s Sunday Mail newspaper.
The pilot struggled to maintain control under less-than-ideal conditions of “low cloud base, poor visibility and rain,” the documents say.
“While maneuvering, the commander became disorientated and the helicopter descended towards tops of trees in the forested area to the south and west of the landing site.”
Instrument readings showed the helicopter was within two feet of treetops.
The captain aborted landing at McCartney’s pad and flew 15 miles to Lydd Airport, where he brought the copter down safely.
McCartney and Shevell, a former MTA board member, reportedly had no idea how close they came to catastrophe.
They have not commented about the close call. A rep for McCartney did not return messages seeking comments yesterday.
The near-crash is still under investigation. The UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch categorized the episode as a “serious incident.”
McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only living Beatles. John Lennon was shot to death in Manhattan on Dec. 8, 1980, and George Harrison died from lung cancer on Nov. 29, 2001.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with David Frost for al-Jazeera network, McCartney said he didn’t blame Yoko Ono for the dissolution of The Beatles.
“She certainly didn’t break the group up,” he said.
The time was right for all of the Fab Four to go their separate ways, he said.
“I think, in a way, then we realized that we had come full circle. We had kind of done everything we wanted to do,” McCartney recalled. “So, in actual fact, it wasn’t that bad a thing.”